


Painted Lady

by Sweatersandrainydays



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 18 in prolouge, 22ish, Adrinette, Aged Up, Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Episode: s03 Timetagger, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Hawkmoth Defeat, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Kwami & Miraculous Lore, Painted Lady AU, Post-Hawk Moth Defeat, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, butterfly!lila, canon divergence as of miracle queen, chloe bourgeois/kagami tsurugi - Freeform, finally actually posting this, mostly post reveal though, please don't post to another site
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23580646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweatersandrainydays/pseuds/Sweatersandrainydays
Summary: In the chaos of Hawkmoth’s defeat Lila got away with the butterfly miraculous. The team has been trying to find her for four years with no luck when she finally resurfaces, releasing akuma once more into a Paris finally beginning to heal from the terror of Hawkmoth. Between finals and disastrous proposal attempts the team has to deal with akumas and increasing claims that range from Ladybug being incompetent to something more sinister. While investigating and combating articles, Alya finds traces of something bigger than just Lila behind the butterfly’s return.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 13
Kudos: 29





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

> I started this after Timetagger came out and I keep coming back to play with it but I think I'm finally at a point where I'm at least mostly happy with how this chapter turned out. I've got the story outlined and several chapters are either written or partially written so I hope to have a pretty regular update schedule at least in the beginning. This is my first longer work that I'm publishing so I'm still trying to figure some things out though. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Ladybug wanted to scream. She’d managed to get to bed early for once just in time for an akuma. Part of her wanted to leave it for the others and let Chat Noir bring it to her some other time. _That isn’t fair, he wouldn’t be able detransform all night._ He _likes_ being Chat Noir. _All night?_ And, of course, it was Lila again. That meant a long fight. _Kwami forbid Ladybug actually gets a decent amount of sleep_. At least Alya would be exhausted too and Marinette wouldn’t have to find some excuse for why she was so tired this time.

All of that became irrelevant when she realized what was going on.

It wasn’t until she drew the heroes underground that Volpina started her illusions. Carapace had compared it to a haunted house maze. Ladybug hated horror to begin with, but she would’ve preferred clowns and chainsaws to what she saw. She would’ve preferred almost anything to what she saw. Some things were horrible no matter how fake you knew they were.

Chat Noir’s grip on her hand was like a vice but she didn’t mind. It meant he was alive. He was alive and next to her and safe, or, as safe as they ever got. Safer than he was in Volpina’s illusions.

When the tunnels finally came to end, they barely entered the cavernous room before being blinded by some kind of thick smoke. Probably whatever amuk Mayura had conjured.

Before the heroes could fully assess their situation, Hawkmoth and Mayura attacked, holding nothing back. Hawkmoth went straight for Ladybug while Mayura kept Chat Noir away. The amuk went for Queen Bee and Carapace while Volpina kept Rena Rouge busy with her illusions and copies.

Fighting with Hawkmoth, Ladybug wished she had brought the dragon miraculous. She could block and strike with her yo-yo, but it would’ve been easier with a sword. He left no room for her to breathe in between strikes. She had to trust her friends were doing fine on their own. _Don’t look away, don’t look away, don’t_ – Rena Rough cried out as Volpina landed a kick to her side. Ladybug glanced toward her, only for a second, but it was enough as Hawkmoth’s blade grazed her ribs. It stung and sent a feeling of ice through her veins. Nothing had ever been able to cut through her suit before. She knew they could be injured, of course, she’d seen it happen to Chat Noir far too many times, but nothing had ever _cut_ before.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chat Noir battling with Mayura. She was fast and agile, landing quick successive blows before moving back again and avoiding Chat Noir’s staff. _Of course_ , Ladybug dodged the next strike by jumping to the side. Before Hawkmoth could figure out what she was doing she launched herself at Mayura. There was virtually nothing for her yo-yo to grab onto, something Hawkmoth had surely considered when planning this, but even without her yo-yo, Ladybug seemed to fly through the air. “Switch!” she called to Chat Noir as her foot connected with Mayura’s side, sending her stumbling back.

She didn’t have time to see his response, but she soon heard the clanging of metal on metal. Switching had evened out the field, but the battle still dragged on.

* * *

Chat Noir was beginning to feel his muscles ache from the strain. His left eye was nearly swollen completely shut where Hawkmoth had landed a blow with his cane. He could taste blood from the cut on his lip, and he was sure there was a nice bruise to go with it. He was convinced most of what kept him going was muscle memory.

Just as he could feel himself beginning to slip further, some of Ladybug’s luck came through and he knocked Hawkmoth’s cane from his hand, sending it skidding across the room. Chat Noir jumped forward, grabbing the villain by the front of his suit, his fingers closing around the butterfly miraculous.

“It’s over,” Chat Noir said with a grin. Paris would be at peace. He and Ladybug could finally reveal identities – just the two of them first, then with the rest of the team. They could exchange phone numbers and he could text her pictures of cat memes all day and she would laugh – he loved her laugh – and they could go to the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery together. She had to like it as much as he did with all the times she would bring pastries from there. Oh, he couldn’t wait to introduce her to Alya and Nino and Marinette and Kagami and . . .

The euphoria of victory melted away with Hawkmoth’s transformation. No longer was Chat Noir staring down at the eyes of his enemy. Instead he was face to face with his own father.

Chat Noir threw both the man and the miraculous back as though they had burned him. _No, no, no, no, no._ He stood frozen, his staff clattering to the ground. _No, no, no, no. It can’t be him! Why is it_ him? The last bits of the battle were dying out around them, but none of it felt real. He was staring down at his enemy – his father – and his father was looking at him with pure hatred. _Why, why, why?_

He was still staring when his father stood again. _Why, why, why?_

Chat Noir didn’t react as his father lunged at him, diving for his ring in one last desperate attempt. It was pure reflex that had him pull his hand out of the way. Before Hawkmoth could make another attempt, Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around his wrist, keeping him from making another grab. “Are you okay?” Ladybug asked.

_Why, why, why?_

“I’m fine.”

He wasn’t.

Before Ladybug could ask anymore, they were distracted by a fit of coughing from the other side of the room. Queen Bee held the peacock miraculous while Nathalie Sancour was on the ground, blood spattering across the floor as she coughed.

_Why, why, why?_

“She will need medical attention immediately,” Gabriel said, Ladybug’s yo-yo string still wrapped tightly around his arm. “Though she’s been wearing it for long enough now I doubt there’s much that can be done for her. Unless you wish to give me your miraculous and allow me to save both her and my wife?”

“Your wife?” Chat Noir could feel his whole body shaking.

“Yes, my wife had an unfortunate heroic streak not much unlike you all. She wielded the peacock for a short while before it was damaged. She’s been in a magically induced coma ever since and my assistant will likely be heading the same way or worse if you do not hand over your miraculous now and _let me save them_!”

“You told me she disappeared! That she _left_!” Chat Noir shouted, tears falling from his eyes. “For _years_ I thought – she was _here_ , the whole time?”

“Adrien?”

* * *

Chat Noir’s glamour broke and Marinette could feel her heart go with it. Adrien had been fighting his father. His father had been the one to put his life in danger countless times, knowingly and unknowingly. At that realization, anger bubbled forward. How dare he keep Adrien from going out under the guise of safety when he was more than willing to send akuma after him? How dare he _lie_ about Adrien’s mother _abandoning_ them?

Marinette wanted to take him far away from this place. From _him_. She wanted to hold him in her arms and promise everything would be okay, that she would always be there, but she couldn’t. Not yet. They still had a villain to bring in. His father. What could she do? Nothing she could say would make this any better, make the hurt any less. There had to be _something_ she could do!

“She never left, Adrien, that was simply what I told you because the truth is a little more complicated,” Gabriel snapped his fingers and a light came on at the end of the hallway, illuminating some kind of pod surrounded by grass and butterfly chrysalises. Chat Noir’s face, previously red with anger, had drained of all color completely. “Your mother was the previous owner of the peacock miraculous. One night it was damaged, nearly killing her in the process, but I managed to save her. With your combined miraculous, we could heal her and save Nathalie from suffering the same fate.” Adrien turned to Nathalie, eying the spatters of blood on the concrete. “We can be a family again.”

“And who would pay the price?” Ladybug asked finally. “The universe must be kept in balance, magic won’t take away your problems, only transfer them to someone else.”

“But these problems wouldn’t exist without magic in the first place!” Gabriel snapped. “I’m only restoring everything to how it was originally meant to be, without magical interference at all.”

Ladybug froze, his words making a terrible amount of sense to her. And his wish was good wasn’t it? Saving lives . . . and Adrien could have his mom back again. Could there really not be a price? Her hand drifted to one of her earrings. She could fix this. She could make the wish to make sure it wasn’t some kind of trick. It would all be for the better.

“No.” Chat Noir – Adrien’s voice echoed through the room, making her pause. “You can’t guarantee that. It’s too big a risk.” He shook his head. “Besides, mom wouldn’t want this.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Maybe, but if she was really a hero . . . I wouldn’t want this. I don’t think Ladybug or Carapace or Rena Rouge or even Queen Bee would want this.”

“I’m doing this for us, Adrien!

“You’re doing it for yourself, it’s what _you_ want. There’s _never_ been an ‘us’ in this,” Chat Noir rubbed a hand behind his neck, and it was such an _Adrien_ gesture Ladybug almost did a doubletake. She had to remind herself they really were the same person.

“You dare lecture _me_ on selfishness when you’re the one with the power to save her and you refuse to do it?” Gabriel frowned. “How disappointing.”

Chat Noir flinched and, immediately, Ladybug placed herself between the two, going right into battle mode. “ _How dare_ _you_?” she growled, eyes and voice like ice. _No one_ hurt her partner. Then she remembered all the nights of Chat Noir mentioning things about his father. All of the long rants shared between Alya, Nino, and her about Adrien’s father not letting him hang out. The years of akumatized victims. All of that was the same man. The one in front of her, who had the audacity to call _her partner_ a disappointment? “ _You_ are the disappointment, Gabriel Agreste.”

The man in front of her looked absolutely gobsmacked.

“Carapace, will you call the police and tell them we’ve captured Hawkmoth?” Chat Noir asked, his voice shaky.

“Will do, what about, um –”

Ladybug cut him off. “I’m going to talk with my kwami to see if there’s anything we can to do for her. Can you keep people out for now?”

“You can count on us, Ladybug,” Rena Rouge said, following Carapace and Queen Bee out with Gabriel and Nathalie in tow. Ladybug could see in their faces they wanted to stay, but they didn’t protest.

Chat Noir had gone to stand beside his mother, his hand resting on the glass encasing her. Ladybug moved behind him, hesitantly reaching out for his shoulder.

“Adrien, -”

“Claws in.” Chat Noir released his transformation in a flash of green light. Plagg flew out, nestling himself against Adrien’s cheek as Adrien leaned into him, tears beginning in a steady stream down his face.

Ladybug offered her arms and he collapsed into her embrace. Adrien’s breathing was rapid and shallow, his whole body shaking as she held him. She wanted to tell him it would be okay, that they’d figure it out together, but the words seemed hollow and empty with so much uncertainty around them.

Instead she ran her fingers through his hair, humming softly as she went. “I’ve got you,” she whispered. Even in the uncertainty, that was true. “I’m here for you.”

She kept whispering to him, her fingers lingering on the spots she knew coaxed a purr out of Chat Noir.

Eventually he calmed down, his breathing slowing to steady rhythm as he remained in her arms, head resting on her shoulder.

“Spots off,” Marinette said, her voice barely a whisper. She’d planned a reveal, just the two of them, on the street where they first met, as a celebration for defeating Hawkmoth, but that didn’t matter anymore. She needed to be there for her friend. Adrien inhaled sharply, not daring to look and keeping his face buried in the now much softer fabric of her shirt.

“It’s alright to look, Chaton. When you’re ready.” She waited, giving him the time he needed to process and collect himself.

Eventually he looked up. “Marinette?”

Her throat suddenly felt dry, _maybe this wasn’t a good idea, it’s too much at once, I should’ve waited – I never thought we’d actually know each other outside of the masks and oh kwami – I forgot I’m in my pajamas!_

He drew his arms around her tighter, pulling her close. “I’m so glad it’s you,” he said, nuzzling his face into her hair.

Tikki emerged from Marinette’s purse with a cookie. “Adrien, I might know how to heal your mother if she was injured because of the miraculous,” her voice was gentle but firm. “Marinette, I need you to let Plagg take a look at the peacock miraculous.”

Marinette nodded, holding out the brooch that Queen Bee had handed to her.

Plagg flew over to the outstretched miraculous. “Ooh, interesting!”

“Interesting?”

“I haven’t felt destruction like this in a while,” Plagg said, and his face lit up like when he talked about cheese. “It feels almost like someone tried to replicate _my_ energy, but well, I am one of a kind. It was a poor attempt at magic, but it’s magic.”

“Wonderful, I can fix it then,” Tikki said. Then she rubbed her paws together, creating a glowing ball of red energy. Marinette and Adrien stood to move out of the way, keeping their hands intertwined. “Plagg, can you put the brooch on her jacket?”

Once the brooch was placed, Emilie transformed in a flash of blue light. Her hair was braided with streaks of blue that complimented the mask covering her eyes. Her suit became a dress similar to the one Mayura wore, only it was more of a blue-green than purple. The same green tint covered her skin and Plagg mumbled something about Dusuu trying to merge to protect her.

Tikki moved forward, the ball of energy pulsing as she held it above the brooch. “Miraculous ladybug!” Immediately the energy dispersed, filling the room with a warm, red glow. Marinette swore she could smell fresh flowers and grass as her injuries knit themselves back together. The scent of ash and dust was wiped away, and she felt strength returning to her limbs, more than she’d ever felt with her own cure.

Then Emilie Agreste opened her eyes.

* * *

“What – where am I?” Emilie blinked a few times before her eyes landed on the boy in front of her. He was familiar, hauntingly so, she knew him . . . no, he looked like her son. Adrien . . . she’d promised to take him to the movie’s tomorrow! Or today? What day _was_ it? Had she overslept again? He’d be so disappointed.

“Mom?” his voice came out more like a croak.

“I don’t –” she froze, heart dropping to her stomach. The boy in front of her didn’t _look_ like Adrien, he _was_ Adrien. Which meant . . . which meant, “How long was I out?”

“Four years.”

“Four years . . .” She had missed _four years_ of her life, of Adrien’s life. Four years’ worth of fencing tournaments, piano concerts, and who knew what else. There was so much to say, to ask, but all that she could form in her mouth was, “I missed the movie.”

“Y-you remembered?” Adrien asked, a choked sort of sob escaping his throat.

“Oh, honey –” He hugged her, tears soaking through her suit. “I’m so sorry, I never meant to miss it. Any of it.”

_Ring! Ring!_

Emilie jumped as the girl with pigtails fumbled around with her phone before answering it. “Master Fu? Yes, we defeated Hawkmoth – I think so, Adrien, do you have the butterfly?”

Adrien paled, glancing over a few feet. “It should be right over there!”

The girl went back to the phone, “No – there wasn’t any, wait, Lila! She was akumatized – of course . . . I’ll explain when I bring back the other miraculous – oh, got it . . . yes, we did . . . of course, Master,” she hung up the phone. “Lila has the butterfly miraculous.”

The butterfly . . . had something happened to Gabriel? Fear picked up in her heart. And who was this Master? Could he be the Guardian Dusuu and Noroo had spoken of? Or was this girl somehow the Guardian, “Do you know the Guardian of the miraculous?” Emilie asked the girl.

She hesitated, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she chewed on her lip. “Yes.”

Emile sighed, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. Finally, this at least could end. “Dusuu, feathers in.” She launched into the words she had been preparing for eighteen years. “While we were away on a trip, Gabriel and I discovered two miraculous and an ancient text about them. We followed the kwami to the Guardian’s temple but found it destroyed. Dusuu and Nooroo were able to track the others back here to Paris, but we were unable to find them. Will you take me to the Guardian so I can return them?”

The girl looked unsure until Dusuu flew over to her, or over the red kwami hovering over her shoulder, “You can trust her.”

The girl looked at the red Kwami, who gave her a small nod. “Let’s go see the Guardian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 7/19/2020: Fixed typo


	2. Life Moves On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets a moment to breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally a couple pages longer but then I realized some of the scenes could work better as flashbacks so there was a bit more last minute editing. Hope you enjoy! - Min

Mme. Agreste took everything surprisingly well considering the circumstances. Then again, how exactly _is_ one supposed to act when they wake up from a four-year coma and find out their husband is a supervillain terrorist who battled with their son, the cat-themed superhero? Marinette was just grateful Gabriel was gone by the time they surfaced – that was one confrontation she did _not_ want to witness.

Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee were standing in a circle at the base of the stairs, all huddled and talking in rapid hushed tones. Ladybug could hear sirens and see the flashing lights from behind the drawn curtains, but the door was shut. Carapace was the first to notice their arrival, squeezing past the other two heroes to get to Adrien. He threw his arms around Adrien with a cry of, “Dude! This explains so much. Also, I’m bringing you the biggest container of briouats and we’re eating them until we’re sick, got it?”

Adrien gave a small smile, melting into Nino’s hug, “That sounds amazing.”

“Auntie Emilie!” Queen Bee shrieked, running forward to hug Mme. Agreste. It jarred Marinette a little, seeing Chloe offering such genuine affection to anyone.

“Chloe?” Emilie’s eyebrows knit together. Chloe simply held tighter. A faint memory surfaced in Marinette’s mind, of a younger Chloe bragging about her auntie taking her to different movie sets.

“Marinette?” Alya’s voice cut through her thoughts. Rena Rouge was standing in front of her, the unvoiced question hanging between them. _Are you really her?_ Marinette thought of finding some kind of excuse, but then, Adrien’s identity was already revealed, and she trusted Alya with her life, Nino too. Chloe was a bridge she would cross later.

“I’m Ladybug.” Marinette nodded, steeling herself for whatever came next. She expected yelling, maybe crying, anger – not _this_ , hugging. “Are – are you mad?”

“No, I mean, maybe at myself a bit. Ladybug set next to me everyday for four years and I never even noticed! But I’ve read a lot of comics, and I’m a hero too, I get the secret identity thing. Besides, you’re my hero, Marinette,” Rena Rouge tightened her arms around Marinette before breaking into the widest grin Marinette had ever seen. “I can’t believe I’m best friends with Ladybug!”

“Babe!” Carapace grinned, an arm around Adrien’s shoulders, “This means both your OTPs can be canon at once.”

Alya broke into what Marinette called her ‘trouble-smirk.’ “Oh, _ch_ _é_ _ri_ , it’s even better than that. It’s a _lovesquare_.” Marinette felt her brain short-circuit.

“ _No way_! You’re right!” Carapace broke into laughter.

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other. He looked just as dazed as she felt. “You still –”

“You like –”

Emilie looked completely lost.

“Can we please handle this later?” Queen Bee broke in with an eyeroll. “There’s still a bunch of police out there and my father’s on his way to make a statement with Ladybug and Chat Noir so unless you were planning to reveal your identities to the world in pajamas, I suggest you get out your claws and spots.”

“Ack!”

“Really, Chloe?” Alya frowned, her arms crossed.

“No, she’s right,” Marinette shook her head. “I can’t believe I just agreed with Chloe.”

“Don’t you mean, you can’t _bee_ lieve it?” Adrien chimed in, unable to resist.

“More like I can’t _bee_ lieve I fell in love with you,” Marinette teased right back, earning an excited _Ooh!_ From Alya.

Adrien looked like he would melt into the floor, “My lady –”

“Cat got your tongue, Chaton?” she smirked, bopping his nose like she’d done a thousand times before.

“How about a bug?” he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Marinette took his hand and gave it a light squeeze, “Us against the world, Chaton?”

He squeezed back, “Always.”

* * *

Adrien had spent almost every night since his father’s arrest camped out in the Dupain-Cheng’s living room. Marinette joined him most nights, always bringing a fuzzy Chat Noir blanket with her. He’d spotted her signature one of the first nights, blush creeping along his cheeks at the realization that _Ladybug_ had made a Chat Noir themed blanket.

He’d been having lots of realizations lately.

He tried to push away the ones about his father. That he hadn’t really cared about him in a long time. That he’d knowingly put him in danger numerous times over the years, nullifying any concern he’d ever expressed over Adrien’s safety. Thinking about those were bound end in pain and anger. He tried to focus instead on Marinette. How he knew lots of things about Ladybug – her favorite music, that she couldn’t stand sticky rice cake because of an incident when she was five, that dragonflies freaked her out after becoming Ladybug and worms had always freaked her out – and, by extent, he knew all those things about Marinette too, and, all the things he knew about Marinette – the excited little wiggle she did, that she was always sprinting into class because she hit snooze one too many times, that jump scares never failed to get her – were also things he knew about Ladybug.

Each time he didn’t think it was possible that he could fall anymore in love with her, he noticed something new. The exact pattern of the freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. The way, when she was in a really deep sleep, she would sprawl out her limbs like a cat. The mint of her toothpaste and the faintly floral scent of her shampoo. The way she scrunched up her nose when the sun came up, burying her face into the blankets to hide from it. It was a surprise if she woke up before noon most days. They stayed up late talking most nights, Marinette out of habit and Adrien because he didn’t want to go to sleep. His sleep schedule had been messed up ever since he became Chat Noir, but he still found himself longing for those nights. He’d always had nightmares, but they’d been worse ever since Hawkmoth’s defeat. _It wasn’t fair, things were supposed to be better, not worse_.

The first night had been the worst. He’d woken up screaming, his heart pounding out of his chest as Marinette called his name. Adrien couldn’t make himself go back to sleep after, even as Marinette held him, her voice steadying him as she whispered, “Shh, it’s okay, I’ve got you, Chaton, it’ll be okay, _mon Coeur_ ,” _My heart_. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

The nightmares hadn’t stopped but he’d managed to stop the screaming. He didn’t want to worry Marinette. She’d already done so much for him; he didn’t need to keep waking her up too. She deserved to finally get some rest and bringing up the sleeping issues to his mother had been quickly ruled out. She’d been hesitant enough to let him continue staying with Marinette, any mentions of trouble were sure to have her insisting he stay with her – she’d already taken to sleeping in the living room chair every few nights.

One of the nights when she stayed at the hotel and Adrien didn’t have to worry about her waking up to check his pulse or something every few hours, he wandered down into the bakery. M. Dupain was already up, kneading dough and baking fresh loaves for the morning. Adrien had been intimidated by him at first, especially when he’d seen him toss two sacks of flour over his shoulder like it was nothing, but that had quickly faded when he discovered their shared love for puns.

“I didn’t want to bother Marinette,” Adrien rubbed a hand behind his neck. “Is it okay if I stay down here for a bit?”

“Good morning,” M. Dupain smiled. “Need something to keep you busy?”

Adrien nodded, “Every time I close my eyes, I keep seeing, you know.” He didn’t want to go into the details. Luckily, M. Dupain seemed to understand.

He handed Adrien a lump of dough. “I had some trouble sleeping when I was a teen, making bread was one of the things that helped. Wanna give it a try?”

“I don’t know how.”

“I’ll teach you.”

It became a routine. Adrien would make his way down to the bakery when he couldn’t sleep and learn a new type of bread. Marinette’s father had been right, it was relaxing, even if his loaves were shaped more like lumpy blobs at first. M. Dupain said he was getting better though. He always made sure to point out exactly what went well in a particular recipe, and to give Adrien pointers where he needed them. The first time Adrien tried cheese bread Plagg claimed it was the most divine thing he’d ever tasted – although Adrien figured he’d say that about almost anything with cheese in it.

Baking was also a good distraction from his father. Adrien hadn’t seen him outside of the courtroom since the arrest. When he was told he’d have to testify as both Adrien and Chat Noir he thought for sure his identity would be revealed, but his father had been silent, even when it had been ruled Ladybug and Chat Noir didn’t need to unmask to testify. It only made him more nervous, like one misstep would blow it. Adrien hated the effect his father could have, even from prison. Master Fu was searching through the grimoire for a spell that could erase his father’s memory or at least prevent him from telling anyone. Adrien just wanted it to end.

* * *

Tom didn’t know what to make of Emilie Agreste. She seemed nice. Adrien certainly seemed a lot happier when she was around, but he was also more reserved. Tom had seen him with Marinette. He _knew_ that wasn’t how Adrien acted all the time. He asked questions, his body was relaxed, his smile reached to his eyes more often. He wasn’t sure if Emilie was even aware of the difference herself. Then again, the last time she’d seen him, Adrien had been barely a teenager, now he was eighteen and about to enter University in the fall. That was a big shift to get accustomed to.

Adrien ended up staying with them even after the conclusion of the trial, months later on the tail end of summer. From his understanding, there had been a lot of back forth on how to prosecute the case. It was less a question of innocent or guilty and more, did the physical damage count since it had never lasted more than a few hours? In the end, the question had been mostly avoided and the prosecution had instead focused on the psychological damage. With the number of victims, Gabriel Agreste wouldn’t be out of prison anytime soon. Tom had watched, waiting for Adrien’s reaction, but he, more than anything, just seemed relieved. Of course, there were moments where Tom found him simply staring off at the windows, or, more rarely, attempting to hide his crying in a corner of the house. Tom tried his best to help. “I – I’m so afraid she’s – she’s going to realize sh–she doesn’t want me as her partner,” Adrien had admitted when Tom found him in the pantry one afternoon.

“I don’t think she can realize something that isn’t true,” Tom said, placing a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “She cares about you a lot, you know.”

“My father though – how could she want Hawkmoth’s son as her partner?” Adrien brought his knees to his chest, curling further in on himself.

“Has Marinette ever cared about who your father was before? Has she ever let it affect her relationship with you?” Tom had witnessed many of Marinette’s ramblings where she was worried her being friends with Adrien would be seen as favoritism. He knew it was something she was always cautious of.

“N-no,” Adrien looked up. “She actually hated me at first, because she thought I put gum on her seat.” There was a ghost of a smile on his face.

Tom nodded, “Do you see what I’m getting at?”

“I-I think so,” Adrien nodded. “She didn’t let the image of my father affect her image of me before, so it’s probably not going to suddenly matter to her.”

“Exactly,” Tom gave him a hand, helping Adrien off the ground. “Or should I say, eggs-actly, since that’s what I came in here for?”

Adrien gave a small laugh, “What are you making?”

“Egg tarts,” Tom opened the fridge in the back. “They’re Marinette’s favorite if you want to help,” he winked.

“Okay!” Adrien grinned. Whether it was that it was Marinette’s favorite or just the idea of learning a new recipe, Tom wasn’t sure. Either way, he hoped giving the boy something to do would help get him out of his head for a bit.

Tom was glad when Adrien kept baking, saying it was one of the few things he knew he genuinely enjoyed. He had said his therapist told him to try out new things until he got a feel for what he really liked, then to go back and revisit his previous activities. That way he’d have a better idea of what he actually liked and what he was only doing to please his father. Marinette even joined in occasionally, and Tom rarely saw either of them as happy or relaxed as when they were together in the kitchen. He was very seriously considering asking Adrien if he’d ever be willing to take over the bakery one day.

“Hey, Marinette,” Adrien said as he dusted the flour off his hands while Marinette tried to brush away the rest from her most recent spill. “You’re pretty a-dough-rable with flour in your hair.”

Marinette groaned, but Tom hadn’t seen her smile so bright in weeks. “I’m going to hear nothing but bread puns anytime soon, aren’t I?”

“Aw, don’t be too sourdough about it. At _yeast_ they make you laugh,” Adrien said, and she laughed, pulling him into a hug. Tom smiled too; they were going to be just fine.

* * *

Marinette knew it was time to address the elephant in the room. She and Adrien had been avoiding it for weeks and with the trial ending, Marinette could no longer put it off with the excuse of waiting for a better time. “Adrien, we need to talk.”

“Did Plagg leave his cheese in your stuff again? I’m so sorry, I _told_ him not to, but well, you’ve met Plagg.”

“Actually, this, um, this isn’t about Plagg,” Marinette said, her old nerves bubbling up. It’s just Adrien. He’s one of your best friends. He’s _two_ of your best friends. You can talk to him. “It’s about – about us.”

“Oh,” Adrien flopped back onto the couch. He swallowed. He knew what she was going to say, it wouldn’t make it any easier to hear though. Her crush on him was long gone. She didn’t want him now. He hoped they could still be friends at least. Losing both Marinette and Ladybug would be losing two of his best friends at once. He didn’t know if his heart could take that after everything else that happened.

“Adrien, I just want you to know – no matter what – you’ll still have me as a friend,” Marinette began. Adrien felt a storm of emotions rise up. Joy and relief because he wasn’t losing her friendship entirely. Resignation and dread because she was going to reject him again. “As-assuming you still want that – I shouldn’t assume –”

“My lady, Marinette, your friendship – I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Adrien said, taking her hand. “It’s my most treasured possession.”

“Oh,” her cheeks tinged pink. “I know you heard Alya – about my crush – and I know Chat Noir liked Ladybug, but you’ve got a lot going on and it’s totally fine if those feelings – if they’ve changed or gone away or whatever, but, um, I just wanted to let you know that I – I still feel the same way. I like you – a lot.”

Adrien was sure his brain had short circuited. “You – you do?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Me too – I mean I like you. Too. I don’t like myself – I mean, not like that, I like myself a normal amount but not in the same way that I like you because that would be weird and I probably like you more than a normal amount anyways and I’m just going to stop talking now before I make it any worse.” Adrien took a breath, his face crimson. Marinette looked like she was trying hard not to laugh while also trying not to blush even more. “The point is, I also like you, Marinette, in a romantic sense,” Adrien groaned, shoving his face to a nearby pillow. “Kill me now.”

Marinette giggled and he felt her fingers in his hair, “Silly Chaton, then I couldn’t take you on any dates.” The prospect of going on a date with Marinette made his heart just about leap from his chest. Then she leaned down, her lips a hair’s breadth from his ear and he realized it would be a miracle if even made it that far. “I have a whole sketchbook’s worth of plans too.”

Adrien lifted his head from the pillow, swallowing as he willed his voice to work, “A whole sketchbook, huh?”

“Mmhmm,” Marinette nodded.

“So, what’s – what’s on the first page?”

* * *

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Lila said as the stranger grabbed for the miraculous she held out.

“And why’s that?”

“Because I can help you get _all_ of them. Not just the butterfly.”

“I’m listening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Briouats are a Moroccan pastry that can be either sweet or savory  
> Also, apologies if the tenses got a little wonky, I tried my best to sort it all out but there might still be some stuff I missed.  
> 
> 
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated!
> 
> Come find me on tumblr @miscellaneous-miraculous


	3. Painted Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four years have passed without a word from Lila. Alya's been investigating on the side but so far her leads have turned up nothing. Marinette works on her final project while Adrien considers the future, hoping his plans won't be too derailed by a certain reappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fight scenes are definitely not my favorite but I think I'm a point where I'm at least pretty happy with it and hoping the next chapters will come easier now that I've got more groundwork laid out.  
> Hope you enjoy! - Min

* _four years later_ *

The apartment was a mess and Adrien loved it. He loved finding Nino’s headphones in the most random spots. He loved Alya’s ‘conspiracy wall,’ photos and articles pinned up everywhere with sticky notes of every color. She claimed there was a system, but no one except Alya had ever figured it out. He even – no, especially, loved finding Marinette’s stray needles everywhere. It reminded him of when he was younger, before his father became a supervillain and all-around jerk. It also made their apartment feel _lived_ in, something his own home had never been like.

“Marinette!” Adrien dropped his keys in the bowl, kicking off his shoes at the door. “I got the fabric!” It was Nino’s turn to cook dinner if the scent of tajine was anything to go by. Adrien could already feel his mouth watering.

“Thanks!” Marinette called from the mezzanine. Her ‘nest’ as Alya had dubbed it. Marinette practically lived up there during finals or when she had big projects. Adrien had carried her down after finding her asleep at her desk more than a few times. She leaned over the edge, a tape measure draped around her neck and a few pencils stuck in her hair. “I’ll be down in second, I’ve just got to finish hemming this.”

Adrien nodded, turning his attention to Alya and her wall. “Anything interesting happen today?” He noticed a few new sticky notes.

“Miraculous wise? No. Journalism wise? Also no,” Alya sighed, pushing her glasses up. She was still wearing the white button down she’d put on in the morning, but she’d changed from her skirt into a pair of orange running shorts, her plaid blazer tossed over the back of her desk chair. “Any chance Chat Noir wants to graffiti the Eifel tower or something?”

“I think I’ll pass on that one, but I’ll let you know if I see anything on patrol later.”

“Fair enough,” Alya shrugged, returning to her board. “I’ve got a few leads to check again, but I doubt anything new will come up. Still nothing in any international news either.”

“Is bad I just want something happen?” Adrien set down the fabric bag on the couch. “We finally solved the thing with my father, but Lila’s still out there. I just wish we had a clearer target.”

“Me too, Sunshine,” Alya took a sticky note from her wall, eyebrows furrowing. “You’re on patrol later, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Mind if I tag along?” she folded the sticky note into her shorts pocket.

“Sure, you know you’re free to come whenever, right?”

Alya smirked, “Like I’d ever willingly tag along on a day that’s just you and Ladybug.” Adrien blushed, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “There’s a reason we alternate patrol days.”

“Like you and Nino are any better.”

“Try _you_ and Nino,” Alya snorted in laughter. “Last time you two patrolled together all the news stations were covering a brain freeze contest between Chat Noir and Carapace.”

“That I won!” Nino called from the kitchen.

“Did not!” Adrien protested. Alya only rolled her eyes, looking amused.

“Case in point.”

Adrien was spared replying by Nino shouting, “Dinner in five!”

“I’ll get Marinette,” he said, picking up the fabric bag.

“Don’t get too distracted, lover boy,” Alya said with a wink.

Adrien ignored her, making his way up the ladder. Marinette had several pins in her mouth as she worked on the hem of her dress. It was plain black aside from the two tiny Ladybug stitched over the right shoulder and there weren’t any fancy folds or stiches because of the jacket she’d paired with it. Adrien hadn’t seen it finished, but he knew it was a pink silk bolero that she’d spent days hand embroidering with different flowers. It was the final piece in a collection of six.

“Marinette, Nino said dinner’s almost ready.”

“That’s five minutes of work I can squeeze in,” she said, taking the pins from her mouth.

Adrien sighed, resting his head in his arms as he waited. Then his eyes zeroed in on the basket of yarn in the corner. He had barely reached for it when Marinette said, “Absolutely not, remember what happened last time you got into my yarn?”

“It was one time!” he protested.

“And how many hours of rerolling the balls?” She shook her head, still focused on her work.

Adrien mumbled something about the softness of the yarn before reaching for it again. “Adrien Agreste, I will bring out the laser pointer.”

“Is that a promise?”

Marinette sighed, “Alright, alright, I’m coming.” She laid the pins and tape measure on her desk, shuffling a few papers before making her way down the ladder. “How was your day?”

“It was alright. Finally finished the equation set from the beginning of the week, with a little help from Plagg. Who knew he was so good at explaining Physics?”

“I’ve been around since before Physics was invented,” Plagg yawned. “Now cheese bread, _there’s_ an innovation worth celebrating.”

“I’ll pick some up next time I’m at the bakery,” Marinette promised. “Just try not to eat through it in two days, Mama was worried last time since three out of the four of us are lactose intolerant and it was all gone in a day.”

“You poor, poor humans,” Plagg sighed. “Missing out on all the gooey goodness of cheese.”

“I’m so glad Wyazz just eats lettuce,” Nino said, placing a large dish in the center of the table. He was still wearing the apron Marinette had made him – a green hexagonal pattern embroidered with the words ‘turtle-ly awesome’ and a little smiling turtle underneath.

“Yeah, you and Marinette really lucked out in the kwami feeding department,” Alya said, taking her seat. “Remember when Trixx had me going to the store for frozen mice?”

“I’d rather not.” Adrien shuddered as he remembered opening the freezer and thinking they looked just a little too appetizing for comfort. Marinette might be fine eating flowers but if he ever found a rodent in his mouth, he and Plagg were going to have a serious talk. Especially since he and Marinette had talked about going to the pet store to pick out a hamster once the school year ended.

“I still remember Nino’s screams when he found one on his pillow,” Marinette giggled.

“That was not cool, dude,” Nino frowned at Trixx who merely shrugged.

“I was saving it for later.”

“And you wanted to see Nino’s face when he found it,” Tikki added. It had been her who told Alya that kwamis could eat almost anything, even if they did have their preferences. After that Trixx had been negotiated down to chicken and the occasional sugar mouse.

“Oh, of course,” Trixx smiled indulgently.

“Nino, do you have a gig tonight?” Adrien asked, changing the subject before he could think any more about the possible taste of frozen mice.

Nino shook his head, “Nope, finally got a break in my schedule. Next week’s packed though.”

“Up for some Mech Strike after dinner then? I convinced Marinette to take a break and join us.”

“Since when?” Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“Since just now,” Adrien said, pulling out his best kitten eyes.

The battle didn’t last long.

“As long as you’re prepared to lose,” Marinette said, getting herself more tajine.

“I’d expect nothing less, my lady.”

“Speak for yourself, bro,” Nino protested. They all gave him a look – Nino was notoriously bad at video games. Even though he’d been getting slightly better over the years, he was still no match for Marinette. “Can’t a man dream?”

They all laughed at that.

After dinner Marinette went to set up the game while Alya and Nino did the dishes. Adrien and Alya had been banned from doing dishes together ever since Alya had realized he hissed like a cat whenever the water splashed him, and she found it entirely too entertaining. The moment Marinette sat down Adrien sprawled himself across her lap. “I hope this isn’t some elaborate scheme to distract me,” she said, shifting to a more comfortable position as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Adrien gasped in mock hurt as he placed a hand on his chest, “How could you think so low of me? I simply missed my lady’s company.”

“We spent the entire day together yesterday,” Marinette said with a teasing glint in her eye.

“Exactly, _yesterday_ , today is an entirely different day.”

"Hmm," Marinette tapped her chin. “Well, we could always meet up for some late-night ice cream after your patrol.”

“Ooh, that new place that just opened? With all the toppings?” Adrien’s ice cream usually ended up at least ninety percent toppings.

“Yeah, I’ve been wanting to try it out.”

"Let’s do it then,” Adrien said, practically purring with excitement.

* * *

Alya and Nino ended up joining them for ice cream since Alya needed a pick-me-up after her lead turned into another dead end. “I should be used to that by now,” she sighed, stabbing her spoon into her ice cream – triple chocolate fudge with peanut butter cups on top. “It’s just – I really thought I was onto something for a second!”

“It’s alright, Alya,” Marinette put a hand on her arm. “It’s not like any of us are having any better luck.”

"It’s just frustrating, like maybe there’s just something I’m not getting or maybe a different fox could bond faster, or –”

“You’re a really good fox,” Trixx was quick to reassure her, poking out from their hiding spot in Alya’s bag. “You know the balance between truth and illusion well, something many of my past wielders struggled with.”

“We’ve all gotten rid of the time limits now,” Adrien took a spoonful of ice cream that was mostly gummy worm. “And Marinette and I have started developing extra powers too, I’m sure yours will come along any day now.”

“Trixx and Plagg tend to bond the slowest out of all of us,” Wayzz explained. “Even if they don’t realize it, it takes them a while to trust.”

“It’s not your fault or theirs,” Tikki added. “Destruction and Illusion just –”

“Work good as villain powers?” Adrien offered. Tikki nodded.

“Can we _please_ talk about something else now?” Plagg asked. “I want to try some of that cheesecake flavor.”

“Ooh, Marinette, can Plagg and I split a small bowl of it?” Tikki asked. Plagg looked at her like she’d grown a third head. “I like sweets – it doesn’t mean I’m trying any of your camembert you Stinky Sock!”

Marinette laughed, “I’ll get you a small container on the way out, that way it won’t melt before we get home.”

“You’re the best, Marinette!”

* * *

“I’m going to do it,” Adrien said, lifting the speakers from Nino’s trunk. Nino had a gig for a wedding the next day and wanted to figure out a good set up for his equipment. “I’m going to ask Marinette to marry me.”

“Are you sure, dude?” Nino asked, though he wasn’t really all that surprised. Adrien and Marinette had been in love forever, even if it had _also_ taken them forever to realize it. He just hadn’t expected it to be so soon – they were only just finishing University. Then again, they had dated for four years _and_ they’d made it through Adrien’s father being revealed as Hawkmoth. If they could stay together through that mess, Nino figured there wasn’t much that would be able to break them apart.

“Yeah, I mean, I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone but Marinette,” Adrien put the speakers on the dolly. “And engagements are usually pretty long anyways, right? I was going to wait until we got everything taken care of miraculous wise, but that could be _years_ at the rate we’re going – it _has_ been years.”

“Have you talked about it with Marinette, yet?”

“Yeah, a couple times actually. We’re both in the same boat pretty much, we want to get married but we want to wait until the butterfly is recovered before doing any kind of ceremony. Especially knowing who has the brooch.” Nino held open the door as Adrien walked through with a box. “You know Lila would definitely try to pull something if she could.”

“You think she’d still be on that, even after all these years?” Nino asked. Adrien gave him a look. “Right, this is Lila we’re talking about. None of her actions really ever made all that much sense.”

Nino began unloading the speakers while Adrien sorted out the wires and chords from his box. “Remember that time she tried to convince the class Ladybug was working with Hawkmoth?”

Adrien snorted, “Or they time she tried to convince everyone _Marinette_ was Hawkmoth?”

“I’m glad we’d all pretty much learned to see past her lies at that point,” Nino said. “That was pretty cool how you stopped it though.”

Adrien had seen the stress Lila’s claims had put on Marinette. Even if no one had believed Lila, a lot of them thought Marinette should do something to get Lila off her back. Alya had even suggested filming with her for an entire akuma attack just to prove it. Marinette hadn’t been able to do so for obvious reasons (well, less obvious back then). Finally, it got to be enough and Chat Noir had very visibly whisked Marinette away during an akuma attack. He’d left her on the roof of a nearby building and told her to stay hidden. Then, after the akuma had been defeated, he’d brought her back to the school and loudly thanked her for her help. Adrien hadn’t known just how ridiculous Lila’s claim had been back then, but he trusted Marinette. Besides, it wasn’t even a complete lie. Marinette actually _had_ helped with several akuma in the past between Evilillustrator, Dark Blade, and Kwami Buster.

His thoughts brought him back to Marinette and the proposal. “Do you think it would be safe to tell Alya? I want to ask her opinion on rings.”

“Oh yeah, I would wait until Marinette’s out of the apartment though, you know how excited Alya can get.” Adrien grinned at the memory of Alya finding out she’d been accepted to her first-choice job.

He’d thought his eardrums were going to burst.

* * *

“ _Strongarm, my name is Painted Lady, I offer you the power to show them all the true meaning of strength.”_

* * *

Adrien had planned to look at rings on his way back from helping Nino, glad he’d chosen to wear the Ladybug hoodie Marinette had made for him. He wouldn’t want someone to recognize him and spoil the surprise for Marinette. After four years the looks had cooled, but there was still the occasional side glance or outright glare when people recognized him. He figured it was worse for his mom. Not only was there the connection to his father, but most people had assumed she was dead or fled the country with a lover of some kind. It had led to some awkward conversations to say the least.

Unfortunately, the universe loved derailing his plans. Before he got much further than the lobby of Nino’s gig, an explosion shook the ground. Nino ran out seconds later, “Dude, did you feel –”

“Come out little heroes! Or are you too cowardly to face me?” a voice bellowed across Paris.

“Yep.”

“Well, at least it looks like Lila’s finally making a move.” Nino pulled out his phone and sent a quick message in the group chat. Adrien grimaced, he had kind of wished for this, hadn’t he? “Come on, the unloading area in back should be pretty empty.”

Two transformations later Chat Noir grabbed Carapace around the waist and launched them into the sky with his staff. The turtle really got the short stick when it came to transportation. The ladybug and bee each had their yoyo and top respectively, the fox could leap, and Chat Noir had his staff, but Carapace’s shield was really only useful for going downhill. In messing around last winter they’d found it could expand a little which led some seriously awesome sledding, but still nothing that would really allow him to get around on his own well. Wayzz said it was just a fact of being the turtle, like how the ladybug miraculous wouldn’t do well with dragonflies or birds.

Queen Bee was at the scene first. Not because Chloe was especially enthusiastic about dropping whatever she was doing to go stop a villain, but because she spent most of her time transformed anyways. People were just as likely to spot Queen Bee zipping around various boutiques as they were to see Chloe Bourgeois doing the same. She had explained to Adrien, “Everyone knows it’s me, besides, Queen Bee can carry so many more bags.” It wasn’t like he could really say anything against her transformation time anyways. After his father’s trial he’d spent entire weeks as Chat Noir on occasion - only detransforming at night to feed Plagg, who, oddly, hadn’t complained all that much. He never let Adrien do it for more than a week at time though, which in hindsight was probably a good thing. There had definitely been times when Adrien would’ve been perfectly happy to live only as Chat Noir for the rest of his life. Moving in with his friends had helped. Coming home to a full apartment where everyone was excited to see him as Adrien and ask him about his day had been something he didn’t even know he was missing and living with his mom had barely lasted a week. She seemed determined to make up for the years she had missed by spending every possible second with him, which might have been nice until she’d started popping up between his University classes and during his bakery shifts. The bakery was less weird considering she’d also made friends with Marinette’s parents, but still, he liked to have _some_ space.

“Nice of you to finally show up,” Queen Bee said. Chat Noir assumed she had been out shopping earlier due to her costume. For patrols she usually went with a more streamlined version, but the photos he’d seen of her out shopping usually had a more decorative flair – a yellow bolero jacket with black fuzz around the collar and wrists along with a bit of a heel on her boots. “This thing’s definitely an akuma. Where’s Ladybug?”

“Marinette’s working on her final project,” Chat Noir said and Chloe pursed her lips. She and Marinette got along well enough as heroes, but they tried to avoid each other as much as possible as civilians. Alya interviewed her for the Ladyblog a few times, and Chloe had actually hired Nino a few times for a party, usually when business was a little slower, but she never really ‘hung out’ with them, no matter how much Adrien tried to meld her into the group. “Nino messaged her, but she doesn’t usually check her phone when she’s designing. Alya’s on her way.”

“I’d say it’s impossible for her to miss the explosions, but –” Nino trailed off. They all knew how absorbed Marinette could get in her designing. “What’s our plan?”

They both turned to Chat Noir, something that used to surprise him. He couldn’t imagine Chloe following anyone but Ladybug, but everyone had just kind of naturally moved to him as leader if Ladybug were absent. It still took some getting used to though, he wasn't usually the planner. “Queen Bee, you’ve been watching, any idea where the akuma is?” _There, that was a good start_.

The akuma was a little girl with her hair pulled into pigtails and dressed in frilly lace and bows. _Basically the poster child for the creepy little Victorian girl in horror films_ , Chat Noir thought, so, of course, she looked very nonthreatening until she picked up a car and threw it fifty meters like it was nothing. Carapace cursed under his breath.

“Yeah, she does that. She’s not carrying anything though, so my guess is the akuma is in one of those awful bows,” Queen Bee sniffed. “ _When_ are we going to get a villain with some _taste_ around here?”

"Maybe you should pick up the butterfly, Queenie,” Rena Rouge said, dropping down onto the roof. “Then again, given your makeup in collège –”

“Ugh! I’ve matured in my taste, okay?” Queen Bee groaned. “I was still figuring a lot of things out then.”

Alya just smirked, “Anyways, how about the hairbow? It’s the only odd one out placement wise.”

“It’s as good a guess as any,” Chat Noir said. “Go for the hairbow.”

“Finally,” the akuma said once she spotted them. “I thought you had all chickened out. My name is Strongarm and I will prove my strength by taking all your miraculouses!”

“Not even bothering to be original, Lila?” Queen Bee taunted, throwing her top. “Then again, all you ever did latch onto other people’s fame. I shouldn’t have expected anything more now.”

A purple butterfly mask lit up around the akuma’s eyes as she ripped a signpost from the ground, charging at Queen Bee. Chloe dodged out of the way as Chat Noir moved in with his staff. The akuma swung and he blocked, but the impact sent a shock through his body that made his bones feel like they turned to jelly. “Kwami, she’s strong!”

“ _Duh!_ Her name is Strongarm!” Queen Bee shouted, her top lassoing around the akuma’s wrist. Strongarm yanked forward, pulling Queen Bee off balance as she ducked a blow from Rena Rouge’s flute.

She swung the signpost and it connected with Queen Bee’s side, sending her flying backwards. “Huh, I guess this is a pretty good bug swatter,” the akuma grinned, making her way towards the still dazed Queen Bee. “Now, lets remove that stinger of yours.”

“Hey! Over here!” Carapace shouted, throwing his shield. Strongarm easily caught it, grinning as she threw it right back at him. Adrien gulped when he saw the shield bury itself deep in the wall of a brick building.

“Let’s end this!” a voice shouted from overhead. Chat Noir grinned, his heart doing flips as he watched Ladybug swing in.

"Perfect timing, my lady," Chat Noir called, blocking another blow from Strongarm.

“Watch your step, Sunshine,” she winked, landing beside him. _Rena Rouge_. Not Ladybug. His heart rate sped up again. _Had something happened to Marinette?_ _She’s probably just wrapped up her designing and hasn’t noticed yet_. It’s not like they were expecting any kind of attack. _She's fine_.

“Ladybug!” Strongarm grinned. “How nice of you to finally join us.”

Suddenly, Strongarm’s eyes lit with a purple glow, the signature butterfly mask appearing over her face. “Ladybug,” Lila’s voice spoke from the akuma. “Hand over the miraculous to me. Otherwise, all of Paris will suffer, starting with your pathetic little sidekicks. I’ll finish them off _one by one_ until the entire city sees how weak and useless you are. Then, once you’re all alone with your reputation in tatters, I’ll rip the miraculous from your ears myself!”

“You’ll never win, Lila!” the illusion Ladybug said.

The akuma smirked, her eyes still glowing purple. “Oh, Ladybug, haven’t you heard? It’s Painted Lady now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT 7/1/2020 - fixed typo  
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated  
> Come find me on tumblr @miscellaneous-miraculous


	4. Threads and Jesters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team figures out how to move on now that Lila's back and Marinette runs into trouble with her final project.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit longer than usual, some scenes in this chapter were being difficult. I'm still not 100% satisfied but at this point I just need to move on or I'll never publish it XD  
> Hope you enjoy! - Min

“Hey, Tikki, do you think going out to dinner next Tuesday would be okay?” Marinette set down her tape measure and pulled down her schedule. She’d gotten into the habit of making one every month during collège and marking down events for all her classmates. Balancing only four or five schedules at a time now was a piece of cake. “Most of the festivities should be wrapping up by then and celebrating the end of classes would be a good way to keep Adrien’s mind off things.”

"You could ask your parents about using the bakery,” Tikki added. “It’ll be easy to keep any triggers away there and Adrien _loves_ baking.”

“And you love cookies,” Marinette giggled, poking Tikki. “That’s a great idea though.”

“I should hope so, _ideas_ are my domain.” Tikki handed Marinette her phone.

“Along with – _aiyah!_ ”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nino sent me a text twenty minutes ago about an akuma!” Marinette said, sending a quick reply before transforming and leaving from the balcony. One of the things they looked for when apartment hunting had been an easy exit for superheroing. Nino had been thinking along the lines of a window that was open to a more secluded area, but Adrien had wanted a balcony specifically and Marinette had gone along with it, remembering how convenient her own at the bakery had been. Later she’d found out his _real_ reasoning.

Their first anniversary there had Adrien dramatically reciting love declarations from below. Her birthday had been a poem. Valentine’s was a candle-lit picnic like the one he’d set up for her all those years ago. _You know you love it, Bugaboo_ Adrien’s voice teased in her head as she felt her cheeks flare up at the memory of his last attempt at poetry. The rose he’d given her was still sitting in a vase on her desk – soon she’d have to decide if she wanted to press it or dry it out.

_Focus, there’s an akuma on the loose!_

She spotted Chat Noir first, standing beside – Ladybug? No, she shook her head, scanning around until she found Rena Rouge, hidden behind a nearby tree with her flute. Carapace was holding up Queen Bee, who looked rather dazed, and the akuma was addressing Chat Noir and the Illusion-bug. As she moved closer, Ladybug recognized Lila’s voice coming from the akuma. “Hand over the miraculous to me. Otherwise, all of Paris will suffer, starting with your pathetic little sidekicks. I’ll finish them off _one by one_ until the entire city sees how weak and useless you are. Then, once you’re all alone with your reputation in tatters, I’ll rip the miraculous from your ears myself.” Ladybug tried to push away the images her brain began conjuring. Lila hadn’t succeeded in her threats during collège and lycée – she wouldn’t succeed now.

“You’ll never win, Lila!” Illusion-bug shouted. Carapace spotted the real Ladybug and made a motion to his head. _The hairbow_.

“Oh, Ladybug, haven’t you heard? It’s Painted Lady now.” The akuma raised her signpost, but before she could do anything else, Ladybug swooped in and snagged the hairbow, landing beside Chat Noir and Illusion-Bug. “No!” the akuma snarled.

“Yes,” Ladybug grinned, breaking the object and allowing the butterfly to escape. The Illusion-bug vanished with a bow as the real Ladybug captured the akuma.

“Lucky charm!” Ladybug called and a small plastic horse fell into her hands. “Miraculous ladybug!”

As the ladybugs began repairing everything, she turned to Chat Noir. “Sorry I was late.”

“Nothing new, right?” Chat Noir teased. Ladybug rolled her eyes, giving him a playful shove.

“W-what happened? Where am I?” the girl asked. She looked six or seven at most, a floral-patterned band-aid on one knee and a bit of dirt smudged on her nose. Tears began welling up in her eyes, “I want my mommy!”

“We’ll help you find her, I promise,” Chat Noir said gently, leaning down so they were eye level. “Can you tell me your name?”

"Camille."

“Camille,” Chat Noir smiled. “You were akumatized. What’s the last place you remember being?”

“At the – at the park,” she sniffled. “The mean kids were teasing me, t-they said I was too little to play with them because I’m not strong enough, but I’m super strong! I help my mommy all the time.”

“I’m sure you do,” Chat Noir said. “Your mommy is really lucky to have such great helper.” Camille smiled at that and Ladybug thought her heart might melt from the cuteness.

“I’m going to lie down,” Queen Bee whispered, pulling Ladybug’s attention from the girl. While her miraculous cure fixed everything, it didn’t erase injuries so much as heal them. They’d discovered that when Adrien had needed to get glasses and the doctor had asked how he had sustained so many repeated head injuries. When Adrien pretended he wasn’t sure, she’d explained that they’d seen several cases where there was evidence of akuma related injury that had been quickly healed, not removed. Ladybug thought it would have been nice to know that sooner.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t pass out on the way or anything,” Carapace added. “Meet back at the apartment after.”

“Okay, Rena, Chat, and I will take care of Camille.”

When Ladybug turned around, Camille had a firm grip on Chat’s hand, “Camille says we’re looking for a park with a carousel and a fountain.”

“With ducks!” she added.

“With ducks,” Chat Noir nodded seriously. “She was also very clever in figuring out the lucky charm.”

“My mommy said to meet by the carousel if one of us got lost and Chat Noir said your lucky charm was horse and the carousel has horses!” Camille was bouncing on her toes, her smile showing off a missing tooth.

“Good job, Camille,” Ladybug said. “Thanks for your help.”

“You’re welcome!”

Before they could move, several news vans pulled around to corner and Camille shrunk closer to Chat Noir, partially hiding behind his legs. “Chat, why don’t you take Camille to her mom? Rena and I will stay behind to answer questions. I’d rather get some answers out now before people have a chance to panic and rumors begin flying around.”

“Is that okay with you, Camille?” the girl nodded, still tightly clinging to his hand. Chat turned to Ladybug, taking her hand with his free one and kissing the back of it. “Farewell, my lady, I shall count the moments till I can see you again!”

It seemed to have the desired effect with Camille giggling and Ladybug rolling her eyes, unable to hide the pink dusting her cheeks.

“All the cheese Plagg eats must go to his brain,” Rena laughed as he vaulted away.

“I’d agree if he wasn’t like that all the time anyways,” Ladybug said, unable to wipe the fond smile from her face as they moved towards the reporters. She recognized many of them by now, though there were a few new faces in the mix. Not for the first time, Ladybug wished she could do every interview with Alya. It was easier when she could think of it as just talking with her friend, and when she was able to watch the footage before Alya posted. Otherwise she usually ended up in a spiraling panic in their apartment because she couldn’t remember exactly what she’d said or what her expression had been. It had gotten better over the years, but interviews still weren’t her favorite thing.

“Ladybug! Ladybug! Was that an akuma just now?”

“I thought you had defeated Hawkmoth?”

“What happened?”

“Is Gabriel Agreste responsible for this? What about his son, Adrien?”

“This was an akuma,” Ladybug said evenly, trying to keep her temper under control. She hated when they brought Adrien into it. A small voice in the back of her head reminded her they didn’t know Adrien was Chat Noir. They didn’t know just how ridiculous the claims of his helping Hawkmoth were. They didn’t know he’d been forced to arrest his own father and testify twice at the trial. They didn’t know.

* * *

Chat Noir was called first. Well, first after Ladybug. The identity issue had been resolved but Adrien _knew_ his father knew. Would he really let Adrien testify twice? With Ladybug, he didn’t know her identity, he had no leverage, no reason to push, but Chat Noir was a different story. Adrien had so much to lose and Gabriel had so much to gain.

So, when his father did nothing, it was even worse.

It was better as Chat Noir – there were fewer personal questions. Only things like: Are you certain this is the man behind Hawkmoth’s identity? Can you explain the events of the battle? Where is the brooch you claim gave him his powers? Akuma victims were always mind controlled, how do we know that isn’t the case here?

Simple.

Easy.

Rena Rouge was called in as he left the stand and he was finally able to see Ladybug again. He collapsed into her arms as soon as she found him, a soft comforting purr rumbling from his chest as she ran her fingers through his hair, focusing on the spots behind his cat ears. “It’s alright, it’ll be over soon, _mon chaton_.”

It had not been over soon.

It took _months_. Chat Noir was called to the stand again. Then Adrien was called to the stand for the first time, mostly to question him about knowledge of Hawkmoth’s activities, even though his father had testified that Adrien had absolutely no knowledge of it.

That surprised Adrien again. He’d been certain his father would try to pin some of the blame on him, or at least claim him as an accomplice like Nathalie. That he did nothing contributed even more to Adrien’s nerves.

Nathalie also testified that he’d had nothing to do with it, but that had surprised him less. Nathalie had always tried to arrange his schedule so he could have time with his friends – she’d even gone to a parent’s day celebration once. Kindness wasn’t as much a rarity with her. He’d once suspected it was because she was in love with father. It wasn’t until Adrien spoke with her after her trial that he learned she’d actually been in love with his mother since they were young. Alya was right, he really _was_ oblivious to romantic feelings.

A week passed before the articles began. Since the trial was still ongoing there was a limit to how much could be released publicly, but Adrien wasn’t sure how much his father’s word would help him anyways. What if it only made him _more_ suspicious and _that_ was Gabriel’s plan?

Adrien had never seen Nino as angry as he was when they first saw the headlines. **Adrien Agreste: Hawkmoth’s Son _and_ Sidekick? **The evidence most commonly cited was that almost everyone in his collège and lycée classes had been akumatized. A few of them, mostly ones he didn’t remember well from lycée, had been interviewed and commented on how he was always vanishing during the attacks too. Nino had been livid, but Marinette’s reaction made Nino seem downright calm. Persuading an angry Ladybug not to go yell at people on an interview with Nadja or Alya was not something Adrien wanted to repeat.

It was hard to argue with someone when all you wanted was for them to kiss you senseless.

Adrien had practically swooned when she snarled “No one bad mouths my partner!” one afternoon. “How dare they!” It was nice to have someone genuinely concerned about _him_ when his name was on the news, rather than how it would reflect on them.

“Bug, remember, they don’t know I’m Chat Noir.” His arm was draped over her stomach as they snuggled on the couch, a nest of blankets and pillows surrounding them. “It’s not an unreasonable assumption.”

“Yeah it is!” she said, crossing her arms. “Anyone who’s ever met you would agree and I’ll fight anyone that doesn’t.”

Adrien smiled. “You can’t fight all of Paris.”

“Watch me!”

He laughed, his breathe tickling her neck as he leaned closer, “I’ll rephrase that, you _shouldn’t_ fight all of Paris.”

“It’ll give everyone something else to talk about,” Marinette muttered.

“It would be quite the headline; we could start a collection.”

She smiled, “I could get Alya and Nino to join in too.”

“And you know Chloe would never miss a chance to be in the spotlight.”

“Of course.”

Adrien pulled her closer to him and Marinette shifted so they were facing each other. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “My knight in shining armor.”

She smirked, “Oh? And how can I be of service, my prince?” She brought his hand to her lips, placing a kiss on the back of it and clearly enjoying the shade of red he turned. “What’s wrong, _chaton_ , dish it out but can’t take it?”

That’s when he knew Marinette Dupain-Cheng would be the death of him.

* * *

The first time Adrien saw his father outside of the court room since the arrest was two months into the trial. His mother had been going every other day for a while, wanting – _needing_ to understand. It had petered off into once a week visits by the time she asked Adrien to consider going. She had offered to go with him, but Adrien didn’t want to face his father with his mother at his side – not when so many of the feelings were tangled between the two. Instead he had asked Marinette to accompany him. He said it was easier for him to think of Ladybug and Chat Noir confronting Hawkmoth than it was to think about confronting his own father. “Besides,” he said with a smile, “There’s no one I trust more to have my back.”

Marinette had thought knowing would change everything, but the roles had blended almost seamlessly. Ladybug flirted back more, in her own teasing kind of way, and Chat Noir got _flustered_ with her flirting more often. Marinette became freer with her touches – leaning on his shoulder, holding his hand, ruffling his hair – and Adrien joked around more, getting in pun wars with her father. She was glad Alya and Nino were in on their identities, Marinette wasn’t sure how she would’ve explained the shift otherwise.

The day of the visit she wore a pink blazer with a white button down and black shorts, her hair tied into a low ponytail. She didn’t want to give Gabriel Agreste any more reason to connect Marinette and Ladybug, the fact that she was coming with Adrien was suspicious enough. “Do you want me to wait out here?” she asked, her voice low as they approached the door.

Adrien shook his head, looking as though he might vomit. Marinette nodded, squeezing his hand for comfort as they walked inside.

Gabriel Agreste was seated at a table, obvious signs of a lack of sleep written across his face. Marinette tried to push aside the vindictive joy she felt at that. She was here for _Adrien_. _Adrien_ was what mattered.

“Adrien,” Gabriel sighed. “Are you going to sit down or stand there all-day wasting everyone’s time?”

Marinette tightened her grip on Adrien’s hand, biting back an insult. After _everything_ , that was all he had to say? No apology? No regret? Nothing?

Adrien gave her hand a light squeeze back before letting go and taking the seat across from his father. “Why?”

“Why _what_?” Gabriel Agreste had mastered the look of making someone feel like a waste of time, space, and energy. It was a look designers feared. The fact that he was using it on his own son made the rage inside her threaten to boil over. _You know what_ , she spat in her head. _Why did you ignore him for years? Why did you keep him locked away in the house? Why did you only talk to him when you wanted something? Why was nothing he did ever good enough for you? Why did you decide to become a supervillain and terrorize all of Paris for years putting the lives of everyone in the city in constant danger?_

“You know what.” Marinette was unable to keep the grin off her face at Adrien’s reply.

“Adrien, you know everything I did, I did for you and your mother so we could be a family again.”

“Including having people spy on me? Constantly preventing me from hanging out with my friends?” _How had she ever idolized that man? And how had Adrien survived eighteen years in the same house as him?_

“It was for your own protection.”

“I’ve fallen from a skyscraper, _more than once_ , because of akuma that _you_ created!” Marinette saw Adrien ball his hands into fists under the table. “How was that protecting me?”

“It would have been irrelevant once I got the miraculous. You wouldn’t have even remembered it,” his father stated, like it should have been obvious.

“But you would have.”

Gabriel shook his head, sighing, “What do you want from me Adrien?”

“Why haven’t you revealed my identity?”

His father looked genuinely surprised at that. “What purpose would that serve? It would only put a target on your back and create some tragic story for the news.”

“Why? Is it just so you can _control_ me more? _Threaten_ me into doing what you want?”

“Despite what you may think, I do love you, son. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“And yet, that’s all you ever seem to do.”

“Do you _want_ me to threaten you?”

“Of course not!”

“Then _what_ is your problem, Adrien?”

Adrien paused for a moment. Then he rose from his chair, turning his back to his father. “Nothing.” He walked toward her, and she could tell he was trying not to run. Luckily, the room was small, and Adrien was back at her side in a few strides. He took her hand right away, letting her lead him toward the exit.

Marinette kept her grip firm, even as she turned in the doorway, her voice hard as ice as she spoke over her shoulder, “Ni bushi dongxi.” _You are less than an object. You mean nothing_.

She didn’t turn to see Gabriel’s reaction.

Adrien had leaned against the wall, sliding down until he was on the floor. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Adrien ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I wanted. An apology maybe? Or just some kind of sign that he really did love me? Would that make it any better?” a half sob escaped his throat. “Is it wrong that I still want his approval even after I know what he did?”

“Adrien, your feelings aren’t wrong,” Marinette put a hand on his cheek. “He hurt you, it’s not bad to want an apology, and you loved him. That doesn’t just go away overnight.”

“I wish it would.”

“Well, in the meantime, you can borrow all the dislike you want from Alya, Nino, and I. I’m sure there’s plenty to go around.”

Adrien cracked a smile at that. “Thanks.”

“Come on,” Marinette held out a hand. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

Chloe, Nino, and Adrien’s mom were already in the apartment when Alya and Marinette returned. “Where’s Adrien?” Emilie asked immediately as they detransformed. She looked like she had come straight from a set, her hair still thick with hairspray and wearing a jacket that would have looked more in place during the 1920s. The few gray streaks Marinette knew ran through her hair were dyed for the movie, though the wrinkles on her forehead and the corners of her eyes were still visible and the dirt and freckles that had been painted on were smudged on her cheeks. It was still easy to see Adrien’s resemblance to her.

“He was taking the akuma victim back to her mom,” Alya said, sitting in her usual chair and pulling out her laptop. “He should be back soon.”

Emilie bit her lip and went to the couch were Chloe was laying down. She began playing with the hem of the Chat Noir blanket that Marinette had left there. “Can I get you some tea or anything, Mme. Agreste?” Nino asked. Between Nino and Marinette, they usually had a wide variety of teas at any given time.

“Do you have any lav – _green_ , _green tea_ please,” Emilie shook her head, closing her eyes as she leaned back on the couch. Nino nodded and pulled out the box of green tea from the cabinet. Hawkmoth didn’t haunt her shadows the same way he did Adrien’s, but there were still shadows nonetheless. There had been a time when Marinette wanted to blame her for that – it was easier, having someone right in front of her to be angry with, but she’d learned to let it go. Gabriel’s actions were entirely his own, his choices as Hawkmoth were his choices alone. Emilie was not at fault for that.

Even if she was for other things.

Maybe Marinette simply had her expectations set too high, only ever hearing about the woman from Adrien or Gabriel and their rose-tinted lenses – even if Adrien had since removed those. She was still much better than Gabriel, but the bar had been so low it was basically on the floor by that point. It was something Adrien had only realized recently, a combination of talking to his therapist and Emilie’s continued pushes to get him to speak to Gabriel again. Marinette vividly remembered the first – and only – time Emilie had tried to use _her_ to convince Adrien.

* * *

Adrien was out with Nino for the afternoon, Alya was still at her semester long internship, and Emilie had still had a key (something which had stopped shortly afterwards). They’d been talking about fashion trends and the costume designers for her latest film which got Marinette gushing about how she’d love to dabble a little more in costume design since it was similar to the work she’d been doing for Jagged Stone. It wasn’t her main passion, but Marinette loved the freedom it gave her to work on some of her more – _creative_ designs.

“Gabriel worked on the costumes for my first movie,” Emilie said. She was always careful to keep Gabriel and Hawkmoth very separate. In her mind, Hawkmoth was an absolute monster while Gabriel was simply a panicked, grieving, father who didn’t make the best choices. She was always insistent on the word _father_ too, never husband. She married Gabriel, not Hawkmoth, not a monster, and he did what he did for _Adrien_ , not her. “– would be so nice if Adrien would speak to him.”

“Ah, sorry,” Marinette apologized. “I zoned out for a bit, what were you saying?”

“No worries, Gabriel used to do that _all_ the time,” Emilie gave a small laugh and Marinette immediately bristled at the comparison. It had never left her mind how she’d almost considered making the wish with her earrings – how she couldn’t say she honestly wouldn’t have been more than a little tempted in the same situation. “Needles and threads – those are the only things that can ever really capture that man’s attention. I was saying how it would be so nice if Adrien would speak to him again.”

“That’s up to Adrien.” Marinette sipped her water, uncertain of the direction the conversation was leading.

“I know, but, well, you understand family, right dear? Your parents are so kind, they’ve done a wonderful job in raising you. I – I know I wasn’t always there for Adrien and I missed a big part of his teenage years –”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Marinette said. It was the one thing Emilie constantly blamed herself for that Marinette fully agreed wasn’t her fault. She didn’t think Adrien did either – both of them knew firsthand the risks of being a superhero.

“Thank you, it’s kind of you to think that,” Emilie gave her a tight smile. “Gabriel is – far from perfect, but we _are_ family. I know if I could just get the two of them in the same room, Adrien would see it too. Gabriel _loves_ him, he doesn’t always show it very well, but I _know_ he does.” Marinette was not convinced and, more importantly, Adrien was not convinced. “Hearing it from his mother, Adrien may just think of it as another chore, but coming from _you_ . . .”

“I’m not going to convince Adrien to do anything he doesn’t want to,” Marinette said shortly. “He spoke to Gabriel once after the trial –” Emilie flinched as she did with any reminder that Gabriel and Hawkmoth were one in the same. “He hasn’t wanted to again.”

“It will be good for both of them to talk again.”

“I’m not going to tell Adrien what’s best for him, he’s had enough people doing that in his life already.”

“Marinette, please.”

Marinette shook her head, “I’m sorry, Mme. Agreste. I can’t stop you from asking him yourself, but I won’t be the one who brings it up. He’s _finally_ happy. You should see his face when I’m organizing the calendar and he realizes _he’s_ the one with all the free time. His face _still_ lights up when sits down at the table and sees all the seats taken, when the apartment’s a mess, or when we all run into each other because of tight space.” A fond smile lit up Marinette’s face, “We have about a dozen mugs with some kind of pun on them, his closest is probably half super corny Ladybug and Chat Noir merch and another fourth pun t-shirts, and our bathroom was an absolute _eyesore_ the month we moved in because Adrien never got to pick out anything for himself before. If he _wants_ to talk to his father, then fine. If he doesn’t, that’s fine too. The important part is that it’s _Adrien’s_ decision, not mine or yours.”

Emilie had left shortly after that and neither of them had ever brought up the incident again. Things had been tense for a month or so after before fading back into the normal arrangement, but Marinette had never forgotten.

* * *

Nino was adding the tea bags to the hot water when Chat Noir landed on the balcony and dropped his transformation. His mother ran over to him, checking him over for injuries before wrapping him in a hug. “I heard about the akuma and I came straight over,” she said. “I was worried sick!”

“I’m fine, mom, I promise,” Adrien insisted. “Not even a scratch.”

“He’s been doing this longer than any of us besides Ladybug,” Chloe said, not opening her eyes. “Give him some credit, Auntie Emilie.”

“Right, you’re right, sorry,” Emilie backed away. “You’re an adult. You’ve been a superhero for eight years. You can handle this.”

“Thanks, mom,” Adrien said, because, if he had to pick, _that_ was the biggest difference between his father and mother. Both were incredibly overprotective, maybe in slightly different ways, both had a tendency to think what _they_ wanted was what _he_ wanted, and neither were that great with listening, but at least his mom _tried_ to be and Adrien had people he knew he could go to her when her ‘trying’ wasn’t all that great. He went to the Dupain-Chengs most often, but the Lahiffes and Cesaires always had their doors open – even for Chloe. Kagami came by enough too that Nino often joked they had their own adoption system set up. One giant family. Sometimes Adrien thought his heart might actually burst from all the love they were ready to give.

“So, Lila’s back,” Chloe said, still not opening her eyes. “What’s the plan?”

“Stop her, same as before,” Nino said, pouring the tea into several cups.

“Because we’ve been having _so_ much progress with that,” Chloe scoffed. “What do you think, Ladybug?”

“I don’t know what else we _can_ do without more information,” Marinette said. “We know she’s in the city, but we suspected that anyways, and she’s probably got a fake identity of some sort since everyone knows Lila Rossi is suspected to have the butterfly miraculous.”

“She also wants to destroy your reputation and get rid of us,” Chloe added.

“Great positive attitude there,” Alya took a cup from the tray Nino brought over. “We should call you Sunshine 2.0.”

“First off, _I’m_ actually older by a month so if anyone’s the 2.0, it’s him,” she pointed toward Adrien. “Second off, I’m just stating facts. We all heard her say it.”

“So, we look for anyone trying to defame Ladybug,” Adrien said. “Simple.”

“Maybe not that simple,” Alya sipped her tea, turning her laptop so they could all view the screen. There were a variety of headlines by different news sources and authors, all proclaiming something along the lines of Ladybug being incompetent leading to the rise of a new Hawkmoth.

“Cross check the articles for any common sources,” Emilie suggested. “That might give you somewhere to start at least, and it wouldn’t hurt for the Ladyblog to write up a piece debunking these claims as well.”

“Already on it,” Alya said, pulling open a side document.

“Feel free to use me as a source, I fully support Ladybug and all her actions, though at this point my word may do more harm than good,” Emilie frowned. “I can call in some favors if you need, but those might be better saved in case this goes further –”

“Thanks, Mme. Agreste.”

“You’re quite welcome,” she smiled, grabbing her purse. “I should be getting back to set now though. I ran off in a hurry when I saw the news.”

“They probably think it’s a family trait,” Nino grinned. “What with the amount of times Adrien had to run off suddenly.” That seemed to cheer her up immensely and Marinette saw the same smile she treasured so much on Adrien. Uninhibited, infectious joy.

* * *

“So, today was a lot,” Adrien said flopping down onto the bed. He had changed into his spotted red Ladybug pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, his glasses slightly askew on his face.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Marinette sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed as she braided her hair for the night.

“Sorry I couldn’t face the reporters with you.”

Marinette shrugged, “It’s not exactly your favorite thing either, Chaton. Besides, taking care of an akuma victim is more important.”

“But you’re my favorite person, I’d do anything with you.”

“Even driving in Beijing?” Marinette teased. Adrien had joined her and her parents on their last trip and since it was his first visit, they’d decided to fly in a few days early to do some sightseeing. Unfortunately, though it was better than when she’d last visited, Beijing’s traffic was still notoriously bad.

Adrien made a face. “As long as I’m with you.”

“Hmm,” she bopped his nose, laying down beside him. “Lucky my cousin’s live in Xi’an so we don’t have to worry about driving there too much.”

Adrien gasped in mock hurt, “Are you saying you don’t want to be stuck in a car with me for hours on end?”

“I guess being Ladybug has made me spoiled,” Marinette replied. “When you can zip across Paris in minutes everything else feels a little slow.”

“Sometimes the joy is the journey, my lady.”

“Now you sound like an inspirational quote board.”

“That’s me, Adrien: part-time baker, part-time physicist, part-time inspirational quote generator.”

“All the time dork.”

“You love this dork.”

Marinette smiled, “I do. I love you, Adrien.”

Adrien sucked in a breath like he always did when she told him that – like he could never quite believe he’d heard her right and he needed to be absolutely quiet to make sure. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead, “I love you too, Marinette.”

* * *

Three days after the Strongarm incident, Adrien returned the apartment to find Marinette in a flurry of fabric, threads, and papers. She was frantically cutting and measuring fabric, throwing things into bags while shuffling papers around. “Marinette?” he asked cautiously.

“This is a disaster!” Marinette cried. Adrien had rarely heard her this stressed outside an akuma attack. “I’m going to fail and everything’s going to turn out disproportioned and Mme. Tasse is going to think I forgot how to sew and kick me out of school and I’ll be blacklisted as a designer because of how awful this is going to turn out and I’ll have to move to America and start a new life with a new identity but then Chloe’s mom will recognize me and ruin any hopes I have for a career in fashion there and I’ll be broke with no way back and no way to contact anyone so I’ll have to move to farm somewhere and milk cows until I raise enough money for a trip back but I’ll be so tired I get on the wrong plane and end up on some island somewhere that’s only populated with lemurs!”

“Okay, first, take a deep breath, okay?” Adrien said, walking over and taking the scissors from her hands. “Second, please don’t run with scissors.”

Marinette nodded, taking deep gulping breaths. “Good, just keep breathing, okay?” She nodded. “It’s going to be okay. First, Mme. Tasse isn’t going to kick you out school if you make one bad dress, and, even if she did, Jagged Stone loves your work and you’ve got a pretty long waitlist for commissions. Second, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” He put his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. “I’d follow you anywhere, Marinette. Also, I’m not sure, but I think most islands would have at least some other species so it wouldn’t be just lemurs, probably at least some birds too.”

“No birds, birds freak me out,” Marinette mumbled. “Lemurs are cute.”

“Good thing you have a cat to catch all the birds then.” Adrien began rubbing her back. “Do you want to sit down and explain what happened?”

Marinette nodded and they moved toward the couch. Adrien grabbed the Chat Noir blanket and wrapped it around both of them, pulling Marinette close to his chest. It took a few minutes for her to start explaining, “There was a mix up with models. A bunch of the measurements were wrong so now I have to do alterations on those pieces and one of my models suddenly got sick, so I have a replacement coming in. I have her measurements at least, but since it was so sudden, she can’t come in for a fitting until the morning it’s due.”

“Mme. Tasse didn’t give you an extension?” Adrien asked.

Marinette shook her head, “She did, but the show is still the same day. If I want to show my work to the representatives, it’s got to be done by Monday. I have a pass to basically live in the design studios for the next four days, but Lila just came back, and I should be out searching not –”

"Let us worry about Lila,” Adrien said, cutting her off. “That’s the whole reason we have a team, Bug. You don’t need to do everything. It’s only four days, if there’s an akuma I can bring it to you to purify and you can cast your miraculous cure from there.”

“I don’t know . . .”

“What alterations do you have to do?”

“The model for the pink jacket – the one with all the embroidery – has broader shoulders that my measurements recorded, it didn’t fit right at all. The lace skirt needs to be lengthened – it was supposed to fall just below her knees – a few of the pants need to be shortened, and one of the shirts needs to be let out more.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Adrien said, trying to remember how long alterations had taken when he’d been modeling. He hadn’t paid much attention though, preferring to let his mind wander as they measured and pinned and adjusted.

“Yeah, the jacket and skirt will probably be trickiest, I might be out of lace though –unless there’s some left at the studios.”

“If not, I can run to the store no problem.”

“Adrien –”

“Marinette, I’m caught up on all my classwork, I’ve only got one lab left, and I have a little over a week until finals even start. Let me help you.” Marinette chewed at her lip. “Look, it’s my turn to get groceries anyways. I’m going to go Friday after classes end and I can swing by the fabric store to get whatever you need, okay?”

Marinette let out a slow breath, “Okay.”

Adrien smiled, holding out his fist, “Partners?”

Marinette smiled back, bumping his fist with hers, “Partners.”

* * *

On Thursday, Chat Noir showed up to the design studios absolutely giddy – not just because he was holding homemade buns straight from the Dupain-Cheng’s. He landed on the roof, calling Marinette with his civilian phone, “I come bearing gifts, my lady.”

“Would one of them happen to be a butterfly?”

“It would.”

“I’ll meet you on the roof in five minutes.”

“I’ll be counting the seconds,” Chat Noir winked before remembering it was a phone call and she couldn’t see that.

One purified butterfly and miraculous ladybug later, Adrien and Marinette sat on the couches outside the design studio enjoying the buns from the bakery. “It was the best akuma ever, Marinette!” Marinette gave him a puzzled look. “Okay, I know it’s weird to phrase it that way, but it was _puns_ , Bug, _puns_!”

“Puns?”

“The akuma called himself Jester, but his power was _bringing puns to life_! Before we showed up the guy wasn’t really doing anything harmful, just causing some general chaos. Apparently, he was doing a comedy act for a school talent show but it didn’t go so well, that’s why he got akumatized. He wasn’t super upset afterwards, just kind of bummed, so I told him he was my favorite akuma. We took a picture together too – here,” Adrien handed Marinette his phone. On it was a picture of Chat Noir and a smiling boy maybe thirteen or fourteen with curly black hair and a dimple on his left check. “It was so cool, Marinette.”

“I’m sure my dad will be thrilled all your hours of punning came in handy,” Marinette said. When Marinette and Adrien had confessed their identities, Adrien had claimed one of the biggest motivators was that he could now use cat puns more easily in their games.

“I can’t wait to show him – Alya said some people submitted footage to the Ladyblog already.”

“Did she mention how the article was going?”

“It’s going to be out either tonight or tomorrow depending how much editing she needs done,” Adrien said, frowning. He’d had to keep himself from hissing at some people on the metro he’d overheard discussing the recent articles about Ladybug. How dare they say she wasn’t doing enough? It was an odd mix of anger and guilt. Anger at the accusations, anger at the notion that Ladybug was doing anything less than her absolute best, (Didn’t they see how much she cared?) and anger that they demand more then her best as if any of them could do it better. Guilt because it was all his fault. He was the one who left the butterfly miraculous slip through his fingers. He was the reason Nooroo was still lost with a controlling wielder. He was the reason Paris feared for its safety once again.

“Hey, I know that look,” Marinette said, scooting closer to him. “None of this is your fault, _ch_ _é_ _ri_.”

“It is though,” Adrien insisted.

“Hey, look at me,” Marinette held a hand to his cheek, nothing but warmth in her gaze. “Anyone would have been distracted with that kind of reveal. I think you were incredibly brave considering, and you – you saw I almost handed over the earrings, but you weren’t even tempted. It scares me sometimes, remembering that, I’m worried I’ll become like _him_.”

“You could _never_ be like him, Bug.”

“Couldn’t I? If I lost you . . . I don’t know what I’d do. If there was a chance I could bring you back,” she shook her head. “I don’t think I’d be strong enough to resist.”

“You wouldn’t hurt other people to do it,” Adrien said, placing his hand over hers. “Your heart is one of the things I love most about you, Marinette. You care so much and so deeply about everyone; you would never terrorize a city the way he did. You would never justify hurting Emma, Louis, or Hugo in the process.”

Marinette gave a faint smile as she always did when they talked about the future. Getting married. Having three kids, a hamster, and maybe a cat too. Growing old together. Things may have been more uncertain than they would’ve liked – superheroing wasn’t the safest job in the world, even with a magical cure – but Adrien wanted that with her and he planned to fight for it. He wouldn’t let any of it, wouldn’t let _her_ go without a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated as always  
> Aiyah/Aiya is an exclamation but I don't think there's really a direct translation or at least not one I can explain other than it's usually for exasperation or frustration, like my mom might go "Aiyaaah!" if she drops a bowl in the kitchen or something.  
> I had to google insults in Chinese so apologizes if there's mistakes in the translation/usage (asking my mom or grandparents for something insulting felt a little awkward lol) Please correct me if there's something wrong  
> (I rewrote the scene between Adrien and his father so many different times, going back and forth between having it Adrien's point of view or Marinette's, but in the end I think Marinette's point of view was coming across more naturally so I went with that version)  
> EDIT 8/9/2020: Lemures changed to lemurs (thanks to the reader who pointed that out, I definitely meant the cute fuzzy primates and not restless roman ghosts)  
> Come find me on tumblr @miscellaneous-miraculous


	5. Tea and Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Nino hang out, Marinette works on her project, Chloe meets up with a friend, and Lila's plans begin to unfold.

Saturday meant Adrien would be likely spending most of the day at the bakery, and with Marinette’s design project mishap, Alya and Nino had the apartment to themselves. “Wonder what we could do for a whole day,” Alya mused as Nino played with a few loose strands of her hair. The only thing that would’ve made it more perfect was a croissant fresh from the bakery and some of Nino’s freshly made mint tea.

“Think of all the trouble we could get into!” Trixx said, their tail swooshing back and forth in excitement.

“Think of all the cleaning,” Wayzz countered.

“We could go dancing,” Nino suggested, ignoring both. “Or catch up on horror films while Marinette’s out?”

“Hmm, maybe films now and dancing later?” Alya said. “Though I kind of just want to stay here and let you hold me.”

“We could always cuddle on the couch.”

“Classic horror movie date trope? Cuddling because I’m scared?” Alya teased.

Nino grinned, “You know I’d protect you from anything babe, but you seriously have the most fight-based fight or flight response I’ve ever seen.”

Alya snorted, “You’ve met Marinette, right?”

Nino laughed at that. Maybe it was because of being Ladybug, but Marinette’s gut reaction to scares was usually punch first ask questions later – or, in the usual case, punch first and apologize profusely while the other person laughed it off later. Nino had been on the other end of it once and that was enough for him, unlike Adrien, who had absolutely zero self-preservation instincts. “At least we know anyone trying to sneak up on you two is in for the surprise of their life.”

“Very true,” Alya grinned. “So, I’ll get the popcorn, you get the DVDs?”

“Sounds good to me.” Nino said. Alya gave him a quick kiss as she slid out of bed and Nino grabbed his glasses so he could actually read which titles he grabbed before heading out.

* * *

Adrien wondered if this was how Marinette felt after the trial. Everywhere – all anyone was writing about was Ladybug.

**Ladybug: Failure or Fool?**

**Ladybug’s Incompetence Shows**

**Why Did We Trust Vigilantes in the First Place?**

**Ladybug, Luckless or Lazy: Heroine Shows Up Late then Misses Second Akuma Attack**

Someone on the street, “Five on one and they still can’t do it right?”

“I thought we were done with akuma.”

“How hard is it to get one little brooch?”

 _Your fault_ , the voice in Adrien’s head hissed. _You couldn’t even get one little piece of jewelry. It’s your fault Painted Lady even exists. Ladybug would be much better off without you. Marinette deserves a better partner. They all want to replace you, they’re just afraid you’ll turn against them. What did you expect? You’re nothing but bad luck. How can you expect to catch another supervillain when you couldn’t even catch the one living right under your nose? Pathetic. The Guardian made a mistake in choosing you. You’ll only bring them down with you. You should quit before it’s too late, save them all the trouble of taking your miraculous._ Adrien couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe. He needed to talk to Marinette. Marinette would know what to do. _She’s busy working on her project, she’s stressed enough as it is. Don’t be an inconvenience. You’ll only be bothering her_.

Marinette’s voice broke through the whispers in his head, “You’re never a bother, _mon couer_. I want to hear from you, even if you think it’s silly.”

He pressed the call button next to her name before he could lose his nerve. She picked up on the second ring, “Hey, Adrien, what’s up?”

“N-nothing,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. Slow down. Take a deep breath. “I was just walking around, and I saw all the headlines and it was kind of overwhelming.”

“Oh, chéri, do you want me to come find you?”

“No, you’ve got your project and you’re on a deadline, I don’t want to bother you.”

“You wouldn’t be bothering anyone,” Marinette promised. “I want to be there for you if you need me Adrien.”

“Could – could you maybe just talk to me for a bit?” Adrien asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Of course, anything in particular you want to hear?”

“Thank you, and um, not really – how’s your project going?”

“I’m making good progress,” Marinette said as Adrien began walking again. It was only a short distance to the bakery. Then he could lose himself in bread making for a while. “I might actually be able to come home tomorrow night if everything goes smoothly.”

“Really?” Adrien perked up immediately. Marinette had been sleeping on the couch at the design studios the past two nights. He kept reminding himself it was no longer than a weekend trip and he could go visit her at the design studio anytime, but he still missed her. Speaking of which, he had to remember to ask Alya about his plan to propose to Marinette while she was still out of the apartment.

“Yep! I’ve finished the embroidered jacket _finally_ ,” Marinette continued. “So, I took a little celebration break to rest my fingers – I think it might’ve been the best nap I’ve ever had.”

“Hey,” Adrien pouted. “What about last year after finals when you fell asleep on me and I didn’t move for _hours_ so you could get sleep?”

“You say that like you weren’t also asleep, _chaton_ ,” Marinette laughed. “But you’re right, that was a really good nap.”

“Cat naps are the best naps,” Adrien said. “Speaking of, how much sleep did you get last night?”

She mumbled something unintelligible, though it sounded suspiciously like “Four hours.”

“Bug, I will come over and cuddle you until you sleep if I have to.”

“Not that I’d ever say no to cuddles, but I’m fine Adrien, I promise. Four hours isn’t that bad honestly.”

“I’m even more worried if you think that,” Adrien said. “At least tell me you’ve eaten and drank something today.”

“I have! I’ve been filling up my water bottle regularly and I grabbed a croissant this morning. Then I went to the place across the street for lunch to get out and stretch my legs a bit.”

“Good,” Adrien said. “Oh, and don’t forget to eat dinner later.”

“Yes mom,” Marinette teased. He could almost see her rolling her eyes. “Thanks for worrying though.”

“Of course,” Adrien smiled, a joke coming to mind. “Hey, so H2O is water, and H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide, but what is H2O for?”

Marinette groaned, “I know you’ve told this one before, but I can’t remember if it’s a science punchline or a word punchline.”

Adrien laughed, “Word punchline, H2O is for swimming and drinking.”

“I should’ve remembered that.”

“H2O4 is Tetraoxidane in case you were curious though.”

“I’m having Lycée chemistry flashbacks.”

“Good flashbacks I hope.”

“Well, I did have a really cute boy as one of my lab partners,” Marinette teased “so I guess it was worth it.”

“I’m pretty sure half the time we said we were going to meet for studying we ended up playing Ultimate Mecha Strike instead.”

“Details, details! Besides, we both passed – some of us more so than others.” Mme. Martin had asked Adrien if he’d be willing to tutor students during a study hall the next year since she noticed whichever study group he joined tended to do better on the next test. “For someone so good at science, you’d think you would realize sledding down the Louvre pyramid on Carapace’s shield was a bad idea.”

“It was Plagg’s idea!” Adrien insisted. Then he felt something sharp poking into his chest. “Ow! Okay, okay, _clearly_ Nino and I should’ve known better than to _take Plagg’s advice_.”

Marinette giggled, “Clearly.”

“I was talking about cheese in Ancient Egypt and you two somehow got sledding down the pyramids,” Plagg hissed from inside his shirt. “I _told_ you it was a bad idea.”

“Plagg, your exact words were ‘eh, it can’t be _that_ destructive’.”

“That doesn’t mean you should do it!”

“I’d never gone sledding before, how was I supposed to know it’d be any different.”

“ _Glass. Pyramid_.”

“That’s – that’s fair,” Adrien conceded as Tom and Sabine’s came into view. “I’m almost at the bakery.”

“Are you feeling okay now?”

“Better at least, and baking will be a good distraction. Thanks for talking to me.”

“Of course, call me again anytime.”

“I will,” Adrien promised.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Adrien said, his heart doing little flips as he put his phone back in his pocket. He tried to ignore Plagg’s snickering as he walked into the bakery.

* * *

Chloe met Kagami in the café across from the gym. She’d been out shopping when she’d spotted a news stand and browsed a few of the headlines. Lila’s stories were taking hold faster than they’d thought. Alya’s articles would help – she _was_ the one who had the most exclusive interviews with the heroes, even before she had become Rena Rouge fulltime herself, but none of the others were in a position to do much. Adrien was out for obvious reasons, Marinette would feel weird talking about herself and she was busy with her project anyways, and Nino was shy unless he had a set of headphones and sound equipment near him. That was one of the reasons Chloe had been surprised he was Carapace. That and, Nino – who cried when a spider had gotten smushed in cours préparatoire – was a superhero ready to fight akumas? But then, Carapace’s role had always been about protection and that, well, that fit Nino perfectly. He would be her next go-to if this didn’t work out.

Marinette may have been content to wait, but Chloe wasn’t going to let anyone drag her hero through the mud. She’d gotten over her crush on Ladybug – seeing Marinette and Adrien make nauseating expressions at each other across the room was enough – but Chloe still liked to think they were friends. Maybe not good friends, but friends nonetheless.

Her drink had just arrived by the time Kagami showed up. Looking at her, Chloe had to catch her breath. Her cheeks were flushed from fencing practice and her eyes were alight with excitement in a way Chloe had only seen after a fencing match. “I thought our plans were for Thursday. Not that it isn’t a welcome surprise, but you don’t usually go off schedule.”

“Drastic times call for drastic measures,” Chloe said, composing herself. “Besides, Thursday is for fun. This is more of a business thing.”

“Oh?”

“Your mother owns a newspaper, right?”

Kagami wrinkled her brow, “Yes, it’s very small though. I think she must forget it exists sometimes, most of her time is spent focused on either fencing or her other businesses.”

“Even better.” Chloe sipped at her coffee. “Could you get them to run Alya’s Ladyblog article on the front page?”

“Which one?”

“She hasn’t finished it, but it’s mainly debunking the claims of Ladybug’s incompetence in capturing the butterfly miraculous.”

Kagami pursed her lips, “I’ll see what I can do. Have her send me a draft when it’s complete.”

“Wonderful,” Chloe grinned. “That took up less time than I was expecting. How long are you free?”

Kagami checked her phone, “I have dinner plans at six.”

“Dinner plans?” Chloe asked, ignoring the disappointment seeping in.

“ _Business_ related,” Kagami corrected. Chloe hated how relieved that made her.

“Well, if we have three hours to kill, how about a little fun?”

Kagami smiled, “What did you have in mind?”

* * *

One of the things Marinette loved most about designing was the way she could get completely absorbed into it. When she had a sketchbook and a pen, or some fabric and thread, it was like the rest of the word ceased to exist. Even the playlist she had made – an odd combination of traditional Chinese instrumentals, Jagged Stone, Nino’s remixes, and classical music – faded to the background. Few things could compare to the feeling of watching an idea from her mind take form on paper and fabric.

It was pure creation.

Marinette was too absorbed to notice the faint red glow emanating from her body, concentrated at her earrings.

She missed Tikki’s excited glance, the same red glow coming from her body.

* * *

Adrien had brought up the subject of proposing to Marinette during dinner at the Dupain-Cheng’s (they’d insisted after his shift at the bakery ended and they closed for the day). They’d both gotten very excited and made him promise to send pictures as soon as he did. Then they’d started talking about croquembouche flavors and cookies and what other bakes goods they might want for the wedding. Sabine had brought up the cookies they did for a wedding a few years ago that Marinette had absolutely loved. Adrien had blushed nervously, rubbing a hand behind his neck, “She hasn’t said yes yet.”

“If she doesn’t Marinette’s either been replaced by an alien or she has a fever of some kind,” Sabine said with a laugh. It made Adrien smile. He was pretty sure Marinette would say yes too, but that didn’t stop the nerves from coming. It was nice to know he had Tom and Sabine’s confidence.

“Do you have a ring yet?” Tom asked.

Adrien shook his head, “I’m going to get Alya’s opinion for that.” When he’d been fifteen and fantasizing about marrying Ladybug, Adrien had thought about using his mother’s ring to propose, and his mother had offered, but the idea of using anything his father had chosen left a sour taste in his mouth now.

“That’s a good idea,” Sabine nodded. “Have you told your mother about your plans yet?”

“Yeah.” His mother had been thrilled when he’d mentioned his plan to propose to Marinette, despite their somewhat rocky history. Adrien was glad, he knew who would choose if it came down to it, but he was grateful to not have to do so in the first place. “She was really excited.”

“I’m glad,” Sabine said. “I’ll have to invite her over so we can start planning. Oh, I wonder if she’d be open to doing a tea ceremony? Tom and I never got to because Roland was already upset with everything and we didn’t want to anger him further – never mind the fact that when I wore a white dress my Tàipó just about passed out, and it didn’t even matter anyways since he and Tom stopped talking shortly after but –” she sighed. “Sorry, I’m getting off track.”

“It’s okay,” Adrien assured her. “What’s a tea ceremony?”

“It’s a ceremony before a wedding where the bride and groom serve tea to both sets of parents and sometimes grandparents, siblings, and other family members. Then the guests usually give them _hongbao_ and wishes for good fortune in the years to come.”

“Oh,” Adrien looked down. Sabine had sounded so excited, but his family wasn’t much of a family – mostly just his mom. He’d never met any of his grandparents, and he hadn’t spoke to his aunt or cousin in years. Not since Felix kept trying to impersonate him and mess with his friends every time he visited. It had been funny when they were kids just messing with their parents, it was not funny when Felix tried to kiss Marinette (again) - even if he'd ended up with a broken nose curtesy of Ladybug.

Sabine put a hand on his shoulder, “It doesn’t have to be just family. The tea ceremony is mostly about respect, sort of thanking your family for what they’ve done over the years. For example, if you wanted to, you could have Nino there and honor him as a brother, or however you think would fit best. If you want it to just be your mother, that’s fine too, and if it really bothers you, we don’t have to do it at all.”

“No, I can do it,” Adrien said. He hated to let the Dupain-Chengs down. “If Nino’s there, and maybe Alya too. Do – do I need to find someone to stand in for my father?”

“No,” Sabine shook her head. “There’s an order to the tea serving, but we could easily just start with your mother. The details can be figured out later though, I just got a little excited. We can talk about it all more once you’ve actually decided on a wedding date and begun planning everything.”

“And after he’s actually proposed,” Tom teased. “You did kind of jump in all at once, dear.”

Sabine blushed, “Oh, hush you, I know you’ve probably already put together an entire sample plate for the croquembouche in your head.”

Tom gave a hearty laugh, “Are you kidding? I’ve got the thing built already.”

That got Adrien and Sabine laughing as well.

* * *

Nino was right. Adrien was pretty sure his eardrums had burst. Alya’s screech of delight when Adrien had mentioned his intention to propose had probably sent every cat and dog in the city running for cover.

"Some of us are trying to have a moment with some delicious cheese bread,” Plagg complained loudly. “And some of us have really sensitive hearing.”

“Sorry, Plagg,” Alya said. “I’m just really happy.”

“So am I,” he said. “I got _fresh baked_ cheese bread and I’m going back to enjoying it now.” With that, he flew off. Sabine had been much less concerned once she learned it was _Plagg_ eating all the cheese bread and now they often sent him home with a small hoard of it.

“So, planning to propose,” Alya grinned. “Nino warned me you were probably going to ask for advice, but – well, let’s just say I’ve been rooting for Ladybug and Chat Noir’s wedding almost as long as Adrien and Marinette’s. I got a little excited.”

Adrien laughed, “You and half of Paris. Believe me, I’ve thought about borrowing ideas from the things people have posted, but none of them actually know her. You do.”

“That I do, Sunshine,” Alya nodded. “Tell me what you’ve got so far.”

“Well, I don’t know if I want to propose twice – once as Adrien, once as Chat Noir, but that might be a little much? I know I’ll probably tie in some Chat Noir and Ladybug stuff to both anyways, and I want it to be just the two of us – for the first time at least if I do propose twice.”

“Ladynoir could just announce their engagement if you want to make it public,” Alya said. “I know you two were hesitant enough about confirming a relationship though.”

Adrien nodded. With his father knowing Adrien’s identity, he’d been reluctant to announce Ladybug and Chat Noir as a couple since it would basically throw her identity out the window with Adrien and Marinette already in a confirmed relationship. Marinette had been concerned at first too, but she’d been the one to convince him by pointing out the whole city thought they were dating anyways, and his father probably already suspected her as Ladybug. Some days he was still uncertain about the decision – what if someone targeted her because of him or vise versa? “I’ll ask Marinette what she thinks about the idea after.”

“Okay, so only one proposal for now. Any thoughts on location?”

“A few, so far I’ve been thinking either somewhere on or near the Eifel tower, the street where we met, the clock at Musée d’Orsay – we swing by on patrol a lot, or the Trocadero. I figured I’d probably need a few backups at least.”

“Well, the Eifel’s pretty much always crowded but heroes don’t really have to worry about open times or which levels they can reach so I think you’d be okay if you went later,” Alya said. “What street did you guys meet on?”

“Oh, it’s a few streets from Notre Dame, she latched onto a gargoyle with her yoyo but didn’t know how to stop yet,” Adrien said, a lovesick grin seeping onto his face. “I thought about where we fell in love too – in front of the Eifel tower for me and the steps of Francoise-Dupont for her.”

“All of those sound good,” Alya said, tapping her chin. “Marinette’s book didn’t mention any specific locations for a proposal, which – girl, you planned everything else out with so much detail, but, whatever.”

“Wait, what book?”

“Oh, it’s a sketchbook she started when we were like fifteen and she planned out what she wanted for the rest of her life. I was there when she did most of it so I took a peek to see the pages on proposals when Nino mentioned you might come, but, like I said, she didn’t have many notes.”

"Was there anything she did write?”

“Pretty much what you’ve already said,” Alya shrugged. “She wants it to be somewhere meaningful to both of you, somewhere private, and either at sunset or at night. That’s about it.”

Adrien nodded. “Do you have any advice for rings? I know she probably doesn’t want anything super showy, and it can’t easily snag so she can wear it while sewing still.”

“Pretty much got it, Sunshine. Do you need her ring size?”

“Oh yeah!” Adrien said. He couldn’t believe he’d almost forgotten that part.

Alya laughed and told him the size.

* * *

Lila emerged from the design building with a satisfied smirk on her lips. She had been told to get a job and while any boring job could’ve done, she’d been unable to resist this _particular_ opportunity. Working with her new friends had opened doors she’d never even dreamed existed. With the resources she had, Lila could’ve made herself President of France and people would believe it. Too bad revenge on Ladybug required stealth and shadows, but, maybe once it was all over – she would be some kind of actress or model at least. Her mother had always said she would do well on the stage. Although, once Ladybug was gone, Hero of Paris would be a position open for the taking – yes, that would do quite nicely. _Lila Rossi, Hero of Paris_. She could probably even get Adrien to leave Marinette for her, the boy had been so smitten with Ladybug. He still was if the photos were anything to go by, but having Adrien was more trouble than he was worth. It amused Lila to no end when the magazines started speculating why Marinette had started dating him. She’d even fed some of the wilder conspiracy theories until people had gotten bored of them. No, Adrien was only good for sympathy or suspicion. She needed something better, _someone_ better – like Chat Noir. Lila could feel the grin slipping onto her face as a plan began forming in her mind. Wouldn’t that be the sweetest revenge? She would take Ladybug’s title, then she would take her lover and the rest of her pathetic hero friends. Soon, all of Paris would forget Ladybug had even existed.

Lila returned to her apartment in a mood so wonderful, nothing could spoil it. Even when she spotted her colleague on her couch. Everyone else called her the Shadow, but Lila liked to use her real name – she could see how easily it got under her skin. “You know, _Reine_ , it hasn’t even been a week. I suppose I should be flattered you think I can just make miraculous fall from the sky.”

The Shadow scowled. Reine Roussel was twenty-four and always carrying some kind of weapon. She’d taken down some peacock hero when was sixteen so everyone loved her. Lila just thought she was full of herself – and boring. All the girl ever did was frown and scowl and go on missions. That, and she always dressed like she came straight out of a spy movie. Anyone who saw her on the street would obviously know something wasn’t right. “Why are you wasting time with that girl?”

“It’s fun,” Lila shrugged, moving to the kitchen. The best way to annoy Reine was to pretend like she didn’t care, and an annoyed Reine let details slip.

“You should be focused on Ladybug,” she frowned. “Not some petty school rivalry.”

Lila snorted, “Your organization's entire existence is due to some petty school rivalry. At least _I_ finish things in my own lifetime.”

Reine ignored her, “Don’t get sloppy. Ladybug didn’t even bother to show up for your last battle.”

“And look how it’s hurt. The public is doubting them, Ladybug looks like she can’t handle being a hero. With Paris against them, they won’t stand a chance.”

“We should’ve just taken the butterfly and left,” Reine mumbled. “Sometimes the simplest solution is best.”

“Just like lying,” Lila said, knowing it would grind her even more to be compared. “The simplest twist is most effective.”

“Just get the jewels,” Reine scowled, heading for the exit.

“Do you want them giftwrapped?” Lila said with false sweetness.

Reine simply slammed the door instead of replying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cours préparatoire = equivalent to first grade  
> Tàipó = (one of the words for) great-grandmother, so Sabine's Tàipó is Marinette's great-great-grandmother  
> hongbao = red envelopes with money inside, they're also a tradition at lunar new year and my grandparents use them for birthdays too but I don't know if that's wide spread (we don't see my grandparents very often and we have fall/winter birthdays so it could just be convenient timing wise too)  
> Hope you enjoyed! As always, comments and kudos are very much appreciated. - Min  
> Come find me on tumblr @miscellaneous-miraculous


	6. Catwalks and Camera Flashes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's project is finished, Ladybug gets new powers, and Adrien would just like a moment of peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer wait, hopefully the longer length makes up for it, I've reached the end of what I had prewritten faster than I expected and I hit a bit of a rough patch motivation wise. I also added dates at the beginning of each section since there's some more flashbacks and I didn't want it to get confusing. Enjoy!  
> (Also, if anyone would be interesting in beta reading for this, feel free to message me on tumblr @miscellaneous-miraculous)

_April 26, 20XX_

Adrien made his own nest on the couch while he waited for Marinette, complete with his Ladybug blanket, Marinette’s big cat pillow, and several textbooks. Alya and Nino had both gone to sleep figuring that Marinette would just want to crash whenever she got home, but Adrien wanted to get head start on studying anyways so he decided to wait up. The next two days were bound to be busy, akumas were unpredictable, and he needed all the time he could get studying for his Analog Electronics and Quantum Mechanics courses. The senior capstone for his business major would take up time, but from how his physics capstone had gone, it wouldn’t be too hard. His two lighter classes, one business and other a general requirement, had the later finals, so he wasn’t even going to think about them until after he got through the others – maybe some light skimming if he had time. But once those were over, he would be done. Part of him was still panicking that he didn’t know what he was going to do after school. There were a lot of things he wanted, things he liked, but they didn’t all connect easily.

The only constants were Marinette and the miraculous. Whatever Adrien did, he wanted to be by her side. For now, that meant staying in Paris and retrieving the butterfly miraculous from Painted Lady. He had already switched his major several times, entering as a business major per his father’s demands, then to switching physics, then going to a physics and business double major as he apprenticed with Tom and Sabine during the summer. “I guess flexibility is the next thing to consider?” Adrien said, voicing his thoughts to Plagg. “I have to be able to leave for akuma attacks and Marinette and I both want kids someday. I want to be able to spend as much time with them as I can.”

“I say you become a professional cheese maker,” Plagg said. “Then no one would think it was odd if you smelled like camembert all the time.”

“Very helpful,” Adrien rolled his eyes, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"My wielders haven’t always been welcomed with open arms you know,” Plagg said. “A lot of them didn’t stay in one place for very long. This is a little new for me too.”

Adrien flopped back onto the couch, closing his textbook for the night. Rather than talking, Plagg curled up on his chest and purred softly. It still shocked him sometimes, to realize Plagg had the ability to purr. It shouldn’t have, given that Chat Noir had the ability and definitely didn’t come from Adrien, but Plagg didn’t do it often. He still remembered when Tikki had first seen him and Plagg interact for a while. She’d looked so happy, her eyes practically shinning. ‘Plagg isn’t usually very affectionate with his wielders, he must really trust you.’

The door clicked open and Marinette walked in, pulling him from his thoughts. Her hair was frazzled, a few scraps of fabric sticking to it with static electricity, and there was a large coffee stain on her shirt. “Hey,” she smiled, giving a limp wave. She kicked off her shoes, letting the bag she carried slide off her shoulder and onto the floor. “Alya and Nino asleep?”

“Yeah, they waited up for a while, but they didn’t want to fall asleep at your show.” Adrien closed his textbook. “Speaking of which, you look about ready to collapse, want me to carry you to bed?” He wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.

Marinette gave a soft laugh, rolling her eyes, “I think we’d both rather I showered first. I haven’t gotten one in three days.”

“We’ve seen worse,” Adrien shrugged. Garbage themed akumas didn’t exactly lend themselves to clean battles. “Your pajamas and towel are on the bed though, fresh from the wash.”

“It’s still Sunday, right?” Marinette asked, wide-eyed in a sudden state of panic. Wednesday was their usual laundry day.

Adrien laughed, “Yeah, I just did an extra load.” He knew Marinette loved the feeling of clothes fresh from the dyer, especially when she felt dirty.

“I love you so much right now.”

“It’s just laundry.” Adrien blushed, pushing his glasses back. It wasn’t really a big deal, but Marinette was looking at him like he’d just professed his eternal undying love for her (which he would in a heartbeat, but that wasn’t the point). Then again, tired Marinette would also sell her firstborn for a cup of coffee, so maybe she wasn’t the best judge.

Marinette walked over, squishing his face between her palms. He could see the dark circles under her eyes, and the tips of her fingers were covered in band-aids from poking herself with the needles. She only did that when she was really tied. “A literal angel on earth,” she said, her face serious, then she gave him a quick peck on the lips before heading into the bathroom.

Tikki flew out from the bag she had left by the door, looking happier than usual. “Plagg, it’s happening! She’d developed another power!”

“Already?”

“While she was working on her project – it was just, _pure creation_. I haven’t felt it in ages, Plagg, ages!” Tikki spun in the air. “I can’t wait to see which power it’ll be.”

“Marinette unlocked another power?” Adrien asked.

“Yes, I’m not sure if she noticed, she was so absorbed in her work, but whatever it is will manifest the next time she transforms. Oh, I can’t wait!”

“She got the luck last time, I bet you a slice of camembert this one’s the wings,” Plagg said.

“Not the shield?” Tikki asked. “That’s what Lành and Jeanne both got first, and Marinette reminds me most of them.”

“I thought the turtle was the shield?” Adrien said, his brow knotted.

“Eh, the Ladybug and Black Cat both have a version,” Plagg said. “They all function a bit differently, and the turtle’s is a lot stronger and more versatile, but the Ladybug and Black Cat need something for when it’s not active.”

“Do we have versions of the other powers then too?”

“Not really,” Tikki said. “Protection just is a concept that plays into many things. Wyazz was the first to come into existence after Plagg and I after all.”

“Huh,” Adrien said. He’d had classes where people debated the mechanics of Ladybug’s miraculous cure and Chat Noir’s cataclysm, whether it was magic or science. Adrien didn’t see why it couldn’t be both, the two could coexist in the same universe. The Kwamis themselves sometimes made his brain spin though. He’d tried to talk to Plagg about it once but the kwami wasn’t all that helpful. “I’m going to go get ready to sleep.”

Maybe he could convince Marinette to transform later just to see what the new power would be, Plagg and Tikki had gotten him curious. They had said there was no way to force a bond to come faster, but maybe if Alya could find a way to tap into ‘pure illusion’ somehow? Marinette understood creation which in turn made her understand Tikki, so wouldn’t the same idea work for Alya and Trixx? But what was illusion at it’s core? It couldn’t be something as easy as going to see a magic show or Alya would’ve done that already – and he wasn’t sure she hadn’t tried, so it had to be something more.

By the time Marinette came back, he wasn’t any closer to solving it and she noticed his pout. As she got under the covers, she pressed a kiss to his temple, “Is something wrong? You’ve got the same look as when you’re trying to solve physics problems.”

“It’s miraculous stuff, we can talk about it some other time,” Adrien said, not wanting to distract her with half-baked theories right before her final. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her waist, his head resting on her chest. “After everyone is blown away by your amazing designs.”

“I don’t remember half the stitches I’ve done since yesterday,” Marinette said, and Adrien could hear the catastrophe building in her voice.

“I’m going to cut you off there,” he said, moving back to press a finger to her lips. “Your designs are awesome, Marinette, and I bet you could fix any disaster with a safety pin and one hand tied behind your back. You’re going to be fine.”

“I’m going to be fine,” Marinette repeated, nodding to herself. “I’m going to be fine.”

“Yeah you are,” Adrien said, pulling her close again. Marinette snuggled closer, yawning as Adrien put an arm around her waist. He gave a her a light kiss, “Goodnight, _ma cherie_.”

Marinette was asleep before she could respond.

* * *

_A few days earlier_

Eleanor Tasse had had the same position for the past five years. She knew what putting together the senior show required. Sure, her first year had been bumpy, but it was nothing compared to this – makeup covered the dark circles under her eyes that had become a prominent feature during the second semester and coffee had become a daily part of her life. In early February Eleanor had contacted the usual companies, those who would send a representative to pick students for internship positions. Shortly after she’d contacted local boutiques who had positions open. A few had scheduling conflicts, but many were able to come – until this past week, when she’d gotten several emails asking for date clarifications. It led to a few last-minute cancellations, but she’d had to deal with worse before.

Then they’d opened auditions to general student body for modeling with no height or size restrictions. Once the models were selected, they’d been given a week of instruction for walking and a general rundown of what they’d be expected to do. Of course, a week before the show one of Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s models had twisted her ankle and a few days later they’d discovered the measurement mix-up. All things considered and with a supervillain back on the scene, Eleanor thought it was very lucky Marinette hadn’t been akumatized. She knew she would’ve been in the same circumstances and people had certainly gotten akumatized for less.

Needless to say, the girl in front of her was an absolute godsend. Lucia Rosa was a former Gabriel model and close in size to the girl that had twisted her ankle – a miracle with the luck Eleanor had been having. “I can’t thank you enough Mlle. Rosa.”

“Please, call me Lucia,” the girl smiled, her green eyes sparkling in the light.

“Lucia.” Eleanor shook her hand.

“Really, I should be thanking you. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to model again so I really appreciate this opportunity. My mother finally found the box she stored all the spreads in so I can bring them to you anytime.”

“No need, dear,” Eleanor waved a hand. “None of our other models have much experience, and you’re a natural anyways. It would’ve been more difficult to catch you up on everything this late is all.” She sighed, “And you’re not the first person I’ve heard of who’s had problems with references because of Gabriel Agreste.”

Lucia smiled even more, and Eleanor assumed it was from relief – the poor girl had had her career derailed in the aftermath of Hawkmoth’s reveal. It was one of the many reasons the name Gabriel still left a bitter taste for many in the fashion industry. People tried to cut ties with him as much as they could, but Eleanor could still see his influence in many of her students’ and even her colleagues’ work, whether it was a silhouette Gabriel was known for, a certain color palette, or simply a style of sleeve. It was one of the reasons Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s work had stood out to Eleanor so much. She took the design elements Gabriel was known for and shaped them beyond recognition until they were completely and utterly uniquely Marinette. Eleanor had asked about it during one of her critiques and Marinette had gladly explained.

“It’s a promise to my boyfriend. By the time I’m done, Gabriel will barely be a blot in people’s memories.”

Marinette had been so passionate about it, Eleanor assumed her boyfriend had once been akumatized or maybe she herself had, or even both of them. It had been most surprising to find out that her boyfriend was none other than Adrien Agreste, Gabriel’s son. Though she came to understand more as she got to know Adrien from a few brief interactions, and through getting to know Marinette. Eleanor could also guess who had inspired Marinette to form such a relationship with her models that they almost all requested to work with her again.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity again,” Lucia said, holding out her hand.

“It was my pleasure,” Eleanor said, her eye catching on the purple gem affixed to her bracelet. “That’s a lovely piece.”

“Oh, this?” Lucia held it up and Eleanor saw that it was really a brooch that had been transformed – somewhat messily – into a bracelet. “It was my grandmother’s.”

* * *

_April 27, 20XX_

Marinette woke with a start, panicked that she had slept through her alarm. Then she glanced outside and realized the sun was only just rising. Checking her phone confirmed it was only five thirty and she could get another two and a half hours of sleep at least. Marinette groaned, collapsing back into bed and pulling the covers over her face. So much for a good night’s sleep – she’d woken up almost every two hours thinking she’d missed her alarm. It was only the adrenaline that kept her from feeling like she’d run face first into a brick wall. Today was going to be heavy coffee day.

“Morning, Bugaboo,” Adrien said, his voice much to cheery for someone who had just woken up. Marinette lowered the sheet so just her eyes were visible and gave him the best death glare she could manage. “Sleepy-bug is not as scary as she’d like to think.”

"Sleepy-bug knows where you live,” Marinette mumbled.

“I hope she sends a postcard.” Adrien stood, stretching out as he got out of bed. “I have some steamed buns from the bakery that I’ll warm up, and I’ll make a batch of blueberry muffins. You don’t have to leave for a few more hours, right?”

“Eight o’clock,” Marinette answered, the thought of waking up not looking as horrendous now. Blueberry muffins and steam buns were a good motivator.

Before leaving Adrien kissed her forehead, “I don’t know if this helps, but I promise I’ll wake you up in time if you sleep through your alarm.”

Marinette’s eyes softened, “Thank you.”

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Adrien assured her once more and it wasn’t long before she felt herself pulled back into the lull of sleep.

* * *

Backstage was complete chaos, and it wasn’t just the representatives floating around to take note of the designer’s performances. There was the general chaos of just having a lot of people running around in one building, most either to finish final alterations or to make it to their allotted time for hair and makeup. Shouts were mixed in with the clicking of heels and everyone was looking for extra pins or the right color thread. Fatimah had already come asking to borrow her scissors and Jaq had looked ready to cry when she handed them a spool of red thread. After lending Alessa her extra bobbin Marinette decided to just leave everything out with a note. Everyone in her class was good about returning things when they were done, and she had anything she would need on her. This being their final was stressful enough without the looming fear of Murphy’s law and with the amount of last minute rips and tears, shoes that were just a size too big or small, and the seeming shortage of supplies, Marinette would be grateful if they just made it through with no akumatizations. Some of her classmates had been saying the show was cursed and, as Danielle walked over with an exasperated look, Marinette was beginning to agree.

“Noella’s replacement, Lucia, is having some _difficulties_ ,” Danielle sighed, rubbing her temple. “If I’m like this now, how am I ever going to manage next year when I have to do the actual designing?”

“I’ll talk with her,” Marinette said, finishing her check over her first model. “And don’t worry, you’re doing great right now. I’m sure you’ll be awesome at it next year.”

"I hope so,” Danielle said, trading notes with Marinette so she could go help the second model while Marinette went to help Lucia.

Her outfit was one of Marinette’s favorites: a forest green romper with a mandarin collar and long trumpet sleeves; the gold and green embroidery depicting small clouds and dragons that reminded Marinette of one of her mother’s favorite dresses. She was relieved to see the model’s hair and makeup were already done at least, and the shoes were sitting on a nearby stool. According to Danielle, one of the fastenings had come loose while she was putting it on and the model, Lucia, was reluctant to part with the bracelet she was wearing.

Marinette decided to focus on the fastening first since that was straightforward. While she worked, Lucia explained about the bracelet, “It was my grandmother’s, given to her by my grandfather, a visiting prince. He was one of the youngest of eighteen, in no danger of inheriting the throne, but he still couldn’t marry for love. It was his last gift to her.”

The girl paused, sniffling a little. Marinette quickly handed her a tissue and felt her heart twinge a bit at the story. Any hint of forbidden love always reminded her of Chat Blanc’s words, even if they were no longer in danger of that timeline coming to pass. “Sorry, it’s just – it’s one of my only memories of her, the day she gave me this. That’s why I so rarely take it off.”

“May I take a look?” Marinette asked, finishing the repair on the fastening.

“That was fast!” Lucia blinked. “You must be incredible with a needle.”

Marinette shrugged, “It looks complicated, but the way I sewed it, the fastening is actually one of the easiest parts to fix since it’s also the most likely to break.”

“Brilliant,” Lucia said, an emotion Marinette couldn’t recognize flashing in her gaze before she held out her wrist.

Marinette hadn’t planned any bracelets for this outfit, so it wasn’t exactly in the way of her design, but it did clash. Greatly. The centerpiece – a gemstone – was a deep violet. The chain was silver and laid – rather clumsily – into a silver backing that didn’t quite match. Marinette assumed she had had it repaired at some point due to the sentimental value. It looked oddly familiar as well, but Marinette chalked it up to studying historical fashions recently for one of her finals. “Your sleeves are long,” she considered. “Just make sure to keep it covered, no fancy wrist movements or anything.” Marinette made a note to mark the style sheet too. She didn’t want the piece getting mixed in with the jewelry she _had_ made in case the representatives spotted it.

Lucia looked relieved, “Oh, you’re such an angel, most people aren’t so considerate.”

Marinette shrugged again, “My boyfriend modeled for awhile, so I’ve heard stories. I don’t want to be like that.”

"Oh, who’s your boyfriend? Perhaps we’ve met before, I have some modeling experience myself.”

“Maybe, his name is Adrien,” Marinette said, vaguely remembering Mme. Tasse saying Noella’s replacement had once worked for Gabriel. They’d probably crossed paths at some point, though Adrien hadn’t kept in touch with many people from that time – too many associations with his father.

"Adrien Agreste?” Lucia asked, but there was a change. Something flashed in her eyes, an emotion Marinette didn’t trust – it looked too much like hunger. Memories of Adrien coming in after some of his photoshoots during Lycee, particularly after a Valentine’s themed one, ran through her mind. The second reason Adrien hadn’t kept in touch with many people from his modeling time.

“Yeah.” She’d have to find a way to give Adrien a head’s up and come up with an excuse to get away incase this girl made him uncomfortable.

“Is he here? We only did a few shoots together, but it would be nice to see him again. I’ve been wondering how he was doing.”

“I’ll let him know, maybe after the show,” Marinette said, trying to keep her answers neutral.

“Fifteen minutes everyone!” Mme. Tasse announced from the hallway.

“I think you’re all set,” Marinette said. “I’ll show you where to stand and then I’ll go check up on the other models. Let Danielle know if you need anything else.”

"I will, thanks!” Lucia said, chipper expression back in place.

* * *

“Have you seen any of Marinette’s pieces yet?” Mme. Cheng asked, taking the seat next to Alya.

“Flashes,” Alya replied, “I don’t think she even let Adrien see them complete yet.”

Sabine nodded, “I saw some sketches when she came over to look at my dresses for inspiration, but I can’t wait to see the finished products.”

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing,” M. Dupain said. “Right, Adrien?”

“Of course,” Adrien nodded.

"Where’s Nino?” Sabine asked. “Wasn’t he planning to come?”

"He’s working the sound since they had a bit of an emergency there,” Alya explained. “The guy who agreed originally got really bad food poisoning last night.”

"Oh dear,” Sabine gasped. “That’s awful!”

Adrien grimaced, “Yeah, I hope the guy’s alright. Mme. Tasse looked like she was about to cry when she got the news – there’s been a lot of mishaps with the show this year.”

"Marinette mentioned something about that,” Tom nodded. “She even asked me to bake some lucky bread yesterday and she hasn’t done that since she was seven or eight.”

"Lucky bread?” Alya raised an eyebrow. She loved hearing childhood stories about her best friend and Marinette’s parents both had some good ones.

“Oh, it started when Marinette wanted to try and make a pretzel, but she was having some trouble with the twists, so we ended up making a bunch of eights instead. When I asked what we should call them Sabine suggested lucky bread since eight is a lucky number,” Tom explained with a fond smile.

"Tom made it a tradition between the two of them,” Sabine added. “My mother thought it was one of the cutest things she’d ever seen.”

"I’m sure it was,” Adrien said just as the lights dimmed.

"Good afternoon everyone!” Mme. Tasse, carrying a microphone onto the runway with her. Her hair was done up into a twist, a few frizzy bits hinting at the chaos backstage. “My name is Eleanor Tasse I’ve been the director of the design program here for the last five years. I’m sure you’re all eager to see the students’ work so I’ll try to keep this intro short.

This year we have fifteen very talented designers graduating and each one has spent much of this spring semester working on their collections. Though there have been more . . . challenges this year compared to most, they have risen to the occasion and I’m very proud to call them all my students. Please welcome out first designer, Fatimah Beauchêne.”

There were polite applause as a girl wearing a soft pink dress and hijab walked on stage, repeating her name and introducing her collection. Alya remembered her from one of Marinette’s hang outs – the only other one besides Adrien who could come close to beating Marinette in Ultimate Mecha Strike. Her work reflected her passion for gaming, each piece having some sort of technological flair to it between softly glowing accents or microchip patterns. Alya made a note to ask if she did commissions.

After Fatimah was another girl whose collection had a sort of futuristic vibe to it, then a boy who did formal wear with a more colorful twist, and another girl who made dresses that looked like flowers with billowing petal skirts. Then it was Marinette’s turn. As soon as she stepped onto the runway, Sabine pulled out her camera and began filming. Marinette explained how her project was inspired by her own identity, pulling from both historical and modern Chinese and French fashion in fabric choices and style elements. “I also wanted to dedicate it to my parents,” she said, her gaze finding them in the seats. “And my friends, Alya, Nino, and Adrien, who’ve supported in this and a lot of other things. None of it would’ve been possible without them.” Alya was going to give Marinette the biggest hug when she saw her again.

The first model started right as Marinette finished her opening. Alya remembered seeing the blazer she wore, slightly oversized and paired with a screen-printed t-shirt and wide-leg pants. The sunglasses on the model’s head reminded Alya instantly of Chloe, having been her signature look for much of their younger years, but the dragon on the t-shirt was in Ryyuko’s color scheme.

The second model wore a beret paired with a white biker jacket, a loose t-shirt that was messily tucked in, and a skirt that was cut a few centimeters above the knee. Given the cat themed socks and the little paw prints on the beret, it wasn’t hard to see the subtle nod to Chat Noir – Adrien looked like he was going to swoon.

The third model was – well, a bit of a disaster. Alya assumed she was the last-minute replacement and hoped none of the representatives would knock Marinette too hard because of the girl’s nerves. Her walk was wobbly the whole time, and she sort of curled in on herself when she reached the end of the runway, her face mostly hidden behind her hair. She kept fiddling with her wrist too, bringing to attention a garish purple bracelet Alya knew Marinette hadn’t designed. If you ignored the distracting walk and the bracelet, the outfit looked great and Alya supposed that was what really mattered. Still, it was hard not to be a little outraged for Marinette’s sake as the whispers started around her.

The next two outfits went much smoother to Alya’s relief, and the final one, well, that started a whole different kind of whispering.

_Is that hand stitched? Yes, I think so, look here at the notes – it says the student, Marinette Dupain-Cheng used Shu/Chuan style of embroidery. Impressive, that must’ve taken weeks._

It had. Alya remembered Marinette sitting on the couch and embroidering while they watched a movie, hissing if the popcorn got too close. Another night Alya had woken up for class to find Marinette still embroidering as the sun came up. She’d never let any of them see the jacket in it’s entirety, but Alya decided it was well worth the wait. The base was a pale pink, flowers blooming across the front and cranes taking flight on the back, each one looking like it had individuals feathers. Alya wouldn’t have been surprised if they peeled off the back and took flight around the room.

It had completely driven the previous disaster from everyone’s minds.

* * *

Marinette felt like two elephants got off her back when the show finished – only for them to climb back on when she remembered the representatives were still thinking over their decisions about internships and job offers. It was a relief to have things to do still: making sure the outfits were properly put away, thanking the models and assistants, cleaning up their workspaces, and taking down makeshift structures. If Marinette focused on cleaning up, she didn’t have to think about what decisions were or weren’t being made.

“I’m so proud of you, girl!” Alya called, pulling Marinette into a tight hug. Danielle smiled, taking the curtain they had been folding and excusing herself from the room. “You did amazing!”

“Thanks, Alya,” Marinette said, feeling relieved. If it was horrible, Alya would’ve told her. She didn’t hold back on important things.

“Hey, no hogging Marinette,” Adrien teased as he walked in with Nino.

“You have no room to talk Sunshine,” Alya said, though she released Marinette from her arms. Adrien pulled her into a hug right after.

"You did great, Mari,” he said, releasing her for a hug and compliments from Nino.

“Thanks again for agreeing to step in,” Marinette said.

“No problem, dude,” Nino shrugged. “The playlist and equipment was all set up anyways, so it was pretty relaxed.”

“Your parents told us to tell you that you did great and they’re super proud of you,” Adrien said. “They went to go make a reservation for some celebratory Dim Sum.”

“Oh, I can’t wait! I’ve been wanting dumplings – the place we usually go to makes them really good, obviously not as good as Wài Pó’s but –”

“Nothing is ever as good as your Wài Pó’s,” the other three chimed in with a laugh.

“It’s true!” Marinette blushed.

“Oh, no doubt,” Nino agreed. “The elders always cook best.”

“Exactly,” Marinette nodded, a knock at the door interrupting her thoughts. Suddenly, she remembered Lucia and winced. She meant to warn Adrien sooner. “One of my models said she used to work with you and wanted to say hi, this might be her, but I can tell her you’re not feeling well or something.”

Adrien grimaced, “It’s fine.”

"Let us know if you need an out,” Alya said, immediately going into protective friend mode.

“We’ll make sure she doesn’t touch you or anything,” Nino assured him. Adrien gave them both grateful looks. He hadn’t been all that assertive of his boundaries when they were younger, and it had caused some conflict when former coworkers realized he wouldn’t let them hang all over him anymore. Why they thought it was okay in the first place was beyond Marinette. Chloe was a little different since they were childhood friends, but even she toned it back when he asked.

Marinette opened the door and it was indeed Lucia. She had changed out of Marinette’s design and back into her orange sundress, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. “Is this an okay time, I can come back later –”

"It’s fine,” Marinette said, letting her inside. “Guys, this is Lucia, the replacement model for Noella. Lucia, this is Alya, Nino, and Adrien.”

Adrien had tensed the moment he heard her voice and Nino was standing in front of him, his stance clearly protective. Marinette was already thinking up some excuse to get her out when Alya hissed, “ _Lila!_ ”

Marinette felt her world tilt sideways. _What?_ She hadn’t noticed before, but now that Alya had said it, it was so clearly Lila standing in front of her that Marinette wondered if she’d had some kind of glamour. She’d either gotten a wig or dyed her hair but the rest of her appearance hadn’t changed much, the same green eyes and arrogant smile, she was even wearing the same shade of orange.

Lila snorted, “Impressive, not even five seconds, though it looks like dear Adrien noticed right away. Shame.”

“What do you want?” Adrien growled, moving to shield Marinette behind him. Had she somehow figured out their identities? Or was this just Lila’s idea of a game?

“Nothing from you,” Lila rolled her eyes. “I have bigger fish to fry than the son of a supervillain and his disaster girlfriend. I just saw an opportunity to have some fun and took it.”

“Fun?” Alya pressed.

Lila smirked, “It’s not like Lucia Rosa is real, so it doesn’t really matter that she made a fool of herself on the runway, all anyone will remember is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Oh, and I left a complaint with Mme. Tasse, so have fun with that.”

With that she sauntered out the door.

Marinette took a deep breath, “Alya, Nino, go tail her, see if you can find anything. I have to stay here and deal with any damage she left. Adrien –”

“I’m not leaving you,” he insisted.

“We’ll meet up with you as soon as we can,” Marinette said. “Call Chloe and see if she can join you. Don’t engage her if you find her, wait until we’re all there.”

“On it,” Nino said, Alya following close behind as they left.

"How did I not recognize her?” Marinette groaned, nearly sliding to the floor. “The bracelet – oh kwami! I had the butterfly miraculous right under my nose, and I didn’t even recognize it! I must be the worst Ladybug ever!”

"Don’t stress about it too much, Buginette” Adrien said, rubbing her back. “You weren’t expecting to see Lila and the miraculous was probably the last thing on your mind today, so you weren’t looking.”

“I held it in my hand, Adrien! I thought it looked familiar . . . I’m such a failure!”

“Like I said, you weren’t expecting to see it. Besides, don’t you think Lila would notice if you took it? I don’t think she knows our identities right now, and if you had recognized the brooch she definitely would’ve noticed. Now at least we know her alias and her guard is down. Carapace and Rena Rouge might find where she’s been hiding.”

“Still –”

"Nope!” Adrien shook his head, pressing a finger to her lips. “We’re going to go clean up any mess Lila left, then we’ll up with Alya and Nino to see what we can find. After that we’re going to celebrate your awesome new job or internship with Dim Sum and your parents, okay?”

Marinette took a breath. “Okay.”

“We’ve got your back, you don’t have to do this alone,” Adrien said as he helped her up. "All five of us against Lila? She doesn't stand a chance."

"You're right," Marinette nodded, feeling a bit more confident. She could tackle anything with her partner by her side.

* * *

Lila ended up not making as much of a mess as they’d feared. Mme. Tasse had, for the most part, disregarded the comment she made. “Danielle and the other models vouched for you, no one could back up Mlle. Rosa’s story,” she explained. “Besides, every other model you’ve ever worked with has had nothing but good things to say. I’ll send her a follow up as part of protocol, but I have a suspicion she was just embarrassed by her performance and wanted to take it out on someone.”

“Thank you, Mme. Tasse,” Marinette said, relief sagging in her shoulders.

"Of course,” her professor waved a hand. “By the way, I gave your contact info to several people so I would expect some calls and emails in the near future. They were all very impressed with your professionalism and last I heard everyone is still talking about that jacket.”

"Really?” Marinette said, unable to contain her excitement.

Mme. Tasse nodded, “I’m very proud of you, Marinette. I expect to be hearing more from you in the future.”

"Thank you,” Marinette said, still in awe as the professor walked away.

Adrien made excuses to others that approached about having to meet her parents for Dim Sum and soon they were transformed, off to find Rena Rouge and Carapace.

It didn’t take long. They ran into them only a few blocks away, Carapace just shaking his head, “We lost her at one of the intersections.”

“I’ll look up Lucia Rosa and see what I can find,” Rena added. “For now we should go celebrate with your parents though, they’re probably worried by now.”

Marinette’s parents were indeed worried, but their questions stopped once she said, “It’s miraculous stuff.” From the look in her mother’s eyes Marinette could tell she was in for more questions once they got somewhere more private. Her father did his best to lift their moods, but she knew he’d have questions later too. That didn’t stop Marinette from enjoying the dumplings and egg custards and every other mouthwatering dish that passed by. Dim Sum with her friends and parents was something not even supervillains could ruin.

Alya had a location for Lila’s apartment by the time they finished, but it was empty when they went to check it out. At first Marinette had felt guilty for taking the time to enjoy Dim Sum when Lila had gotten away, but then Alya pointed out the apartment looked like it had been emptied weeks ago. Lila had unknowingly approached Ladybug outside the mask, but apparently that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared. “If nothing else,” Nino said. “We know one of her aliases to look out for.”

"We’ll get Nooroo back, don’t worry,” Alya assured her with a hand on her shoulder. “Lila just got sneakier, that’s all.”

"Then I need to get better at figuring her out,” Marinette said, retreating to the mezzanine to plan. After all, a plan was just another type of design.

* * *

_Tuesday April 28, 20XX_

Adrien clung to Marinette on the drive over. Nino and Alya had claimed the front, part out of preference and part to keep Adrien from staring out the window too much. The festivities were in full swing as the city celebrating the four-year anniversary of Hawkmoth’s defeat which meant plenty of decorations were up. Most people focused on Ladybug and Chat Noir, which wasn’t that bad – he could never tire of his Lady’s face after all. But seeing it all on _this_ particular day was a punch in the gut. Especially since many people also incorporated white butterflies into their celebrations either through decorations or different activities. Children would make little paper cut outs of them, tossing the butterflies into the air echoing Ladybug’s signature, “Bye-bye little butterfly!” Honestly, it was kind of adorable and he probably would’ve loved it if he wasn’t forced to see his father’s face flash through his memory each time. The hate in his eyes as his transformation fell away, the moment he revealed Adrien’s mother had never left, that she’d been hidden the whole time, his father’s voice echoing the word _disappointment_ as it rattled through his skull over and over and over again. _Disappointment_ – all he would ever be.

Adrien was glad when they arrived at the bakery, it was a welcome distraction from his thoughts. _I’m going to celebrate the end of classes with my friends. I’m not going to think about my father anymore. I’m going to eat pastries and see my friends and be happy. Gabriel Agreste does not get to make me any more miserable than he already has._

As they entered the building, Adrien noticed the posters Marinette designed were strategically placed on the windows, blocking much of the street from view. It could’ve been any other ordinary day from what was visible. Today he was not Adrien Agreste, the boy who put his father in prison for being a supervillain terrorist. Today he was just Adrien, celebrating the end of school with his friends like a normal person.

“We’re so proud of both you,” Tom said, pulling Adrien and Marinette into a hug. “Our graduates!”

“We’ve still got finals, Papa,” Marinette reminded him, laughing though she was squished in the hug. Adrien knew it was more traditional to celebrate after classes _and_ finals were finished, but he was still grateful Marinette didn’t mind celebrating early. It gave him something to look forward to despite the anniversary.

“And I’m sure you’ll both ace those too,” M. Dupain grinned, releasing them from his arms only for Adrien to find himself enveloped in another pair.

“Hi mom,” he said, relaxing into her arms. Even after four years, her hugs still felt special to him, each one something to be treasured. She always smelled like lemon and rosemary.

Emilie put her hands on his shoulders, the wrinkles near her eyes more prominent as she smiled, her eyes shining, “I’m so proud of you, Adrien.”

Adrien felt a lump rise in his throat. M. Dupain tried to tell Adrien he was proud of him as often as he could without it seeming hollow, but there was still something about hearing it from his own mother. “Thanks, mom,” he managed.

“You’re welcome,” she hugged him once more. Then she grinned, a spark of mischief alight in her eyes. It was the same look she used to give him when he was little and couldn’t sleep, right before she’d take him down to the kitchen and make giant ice cream sundaes. “Now, I think I just saw M. Dupain bring out a plate of passionfruit macrons that’s calling both our names.”

Adrien spun around, the promise of passionfruit macrons too tempting to ignore. There was indeed a large plate of them, perched on the counter and waiting to be consumed. It quickly became a significantly smaller plate each time Emilie or Adrien walked by. When Marinette noticed she teased that passionfruit macrons were his camembert. Adrien pulled her in for a kiss, “Maybe _you’re_ my camembert.”

“That was cheesy,” Marinette snorted. “Literally.”

“Was that a pun?” Adrien asked, delighted.

“Just the truth,” Marinette responded.

“That’s a shame, I know some pretty _grate_ ones too. I’m quite _fondue_ of them.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, a playful smirk on her lips, “You’re lucky I’m so _fondue_ of _you_.”

“My lady, you’re making me _melt_!” Adrien said, placing a hand over his heart.

“Alright, time to break up the cheese fest,” Nino said, throwing an arm around Adrien’s shoulder. “People are starting to show up.”

Excitement for seeing his friends pushed aside the disappointment of Nino’s interruption. “It’ll be nice to see everyone,” Adrien said. “We haven’t all been together since Lycée.”

All of their old class was invited, scattered in with friends from University. Once they all arrived, Adrien floated around, wanting a chance to talk with everyone. Sabrina was gushing to one his classmates, Edmond, about her girlfriend and something astronomy related. Adrien was only able to catch a few words before being pulled over by Alix, wanting him to judge a croissant stacking competition between her and his friend Joelle while Marc and Nathaniel conveniently brought over a plate full of them.

They were still stacking when he got pulled aside by Kim, taking him over to where Max was introducing a group to Markov. Kim very enthusiastically explained that Markov could now functionally swim underwater and that he had beaten Markov in several races. Juleka, Mylene, and Alya were talking with Fatimah and Jaq about their designs while Nino, Ivan, and Rose talked music. There was no talk of heroes, something Adrien suspected was a conscious effort on his friends’ part and something he greatly appreciated.

When he looked back, Alix and Joelle were still stacking croissants. They looked like they’d still be going for a while, so he found Chloe instead, standing by the door with her phone in hand. “What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

“What does it look like?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“Being boring,” Adrien supplied, dodging a playful smack from her arm.

“Whatever,” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Kagami’s on her way.”

“Oh?” Adrien wiggled his eyebrows. “I noticed you two have been hanging out a lot recently.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that you have a type and Kagami fits,” Adrien shrugged. Chloe glared daggers at him. “For what it’s worth, I think you two would be good for each other.”

“For what it’s worth, _Adrikins_ ,” the nickname was now less some ridiculous attempt at a pet name and more a slightly embarrassing jab, “I didn’t ask your opinion. How’d you know anyways? I love you, but you’re denser than a rock in the ocean when it comes to romantic relationships.”

“Maybe I’m getting better.” Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Alright, I overheard Nino and Alya talking.”

“Thought so.” Chloe looked very smug. Adrien wanted to protest but he knew he couldn’t win – getting himself tangled in a lovesquare involving only two people had sealed his fate long ago.

Before he could think of any type of reply though, his phone began to ring. “Sorry,” he apologized. Chloe just nodded, returning to her own texting. An unknown number flashed on the screen, “Hello?”

The was a beat of silence.

“Hello, son, it’s good to hear your voice.” Adrien nearly dropped the phone, his stomach twisting into knots. Chloe looked up at him, eyebrows knit together.

“How’d you get this number?” Adrien managed.

"Your mother gave it to me at her last visit,” Gabriel replied. “Since gallivanting around with your little girlfriend is apparently more important than visiting your own father. I thought I raised you better than this.”

“You hardly raised me at all,” Adrien hissed, anger overtaking his fear. Chloe made a noise of disgust, realizing who he was talking to. The last time Adrien knew his mother had visited was over a month ago, so why had his father waited until now to call him? “Why _today,_ of all days?”

Gabriel sighed, “Must everything have a reason?”

“With you?” Adrien gave a hollow laugh. “Yes.”

"Everyone is being rather insufferable celebrating our _beloved_ heroes. It’s quiet here.” _No way, you want something – or you knew calling today would mess me up so you could exploit it later_. “Perhaps I’m simply bored.”

“What do you want?”

"Your mother wants us to be a family and I want your mother to be happy. You wouldn’t want to _disappoint_ her, would you?”

_Disappoint. Disappointment._

_Disappointing as usual, Adrien._

_Don’t disappoint me, son._

_Your mother would be so disappointed in you right now._

_You are a disappointment, Adrien._

_What a waste._

Adrien couldn’t breathe. His throat felt too tight, the room was spinning. He was going to be sick. Somewhere, he heard Chloe shout.

The phone slipped from his grasp, but it never hit the floor. Instead, Marinette caught it. Marinette. He had to pull it together – he couldn’t disappoint Marinette, she worked so hard to make this day bearable, putting together a whole party. She sounded angry – Adrien flinched before realizing Marinette wasn’t talking to him, she was talking on the phone. His father! His father would tell Marinette what a disappointment he was – she’d finally see he was a waste of time. Adrien could feel the tears burning tracks down his cheeks. What would he do without Marinette? If she left, Alya would leave too, and Nino would go with Alya. Then Chloe and Kagami would leave too and he’d have to give up his miraculous because none of the others would want to work with him, which meant Plagg would leave too and – and, he was gasping, gulping for air.

“Adrien,” Marinette’s voice broke through the haze. “Adrien, love, can you hear me?”

"Mhm,” Adrien nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth.

"We’re going to go up to my old room now, okay?”

Adrien just nodded, allowing her to lead him upstairs after a brief explanation to their mothers. The attic that had been Marinette’s room was largely empty since she’d moved out. The walls were still pink, but her desk was bare and the corner where her design stuff had been was now home to several boxes. The walls were bare too – empty of the photos, post-it notes, and sketches. Her chaise had been pushed against a wall and the sheets were gone from her bed. Everything that made it _Marinette_ was missing. Adrien started to panic again. What if the room was an echo into his future?

" _Ch_ _é_ _ri_ , breathe with me, okay? Can you do that?” He nodded, trying to focus on matching his breathing to hers. “Good, keep going. Take deep breathes, relax your body, it’s going to be okay.”

Marinette guided him to her chaise so they were both sitting down before taking him into her arms. “Is this okay?” she asked, her voice soft. “Do you need anything else?”

“Just – just keep holding me,” Adrien said. “Please.”

Marinette nodded, pulling him closer to her. His father’s words wouldn’t leave his head though. The fear that Marinette was only holding him now to soften the blow later gnawed through his body, eating away at him until he could stand it no longer.

“Do – do you think I’m a disappointment?”

"No, _oh Adrien_ no, you’re not a disappointment,” Marinette tightened her grip on him, hugging him so close it almost hurt. “And nothing your father ever does or says can change my mind.”

Adrien just nodded in response, any words sticking in his throat. His breathing was slowly returning to normal, but he couldn’t stop himself from shaking. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest and his stomach was still working on unknotting itself. “Don’t leave me,” Adrien whimpered, curling closer into her side.

“I won’t,” she assured him. “I’m not going anywhere Adrien, I promise. You’re my best friend, my partner, I couldn’t replace you even if I wanted to. And I doubt there’s anything that would make me want to. I love you, nothing’s going to change that.”

“I’m sorry I caused trouble.”

“Adrien, you’re not causing trouble,” Marinette assured him. “This isn’t your fault.”

"But I ruined –”

"Shh, you didn’t ruin anything,” she pressed a finger to his lips. In the silence they could both hear the faint sounds of the party continuing below. Adrien sagged in relief, Nino must’ve told everyone to continue on knowing Adrien would only feel guilty if he came down and saw them all waiting on him.

The thought of Nino gave Adrien courage to find his voice again. “Why? Why does he always – he ignored for me years and now he can’t stop trying to talk to me! Why call today? Today, of all days! Doesn’t he know – does he even care how upsetting that was, what kind of effect it had? And then, to say _I_ was the one who was dis-disappointing?”

"I think he wants to feel like he still has some kind of control over you,” Marinette said. “That and his liáng xīn bèi gǒu chī le.” _His conscience was eaten by a dog._ The corner of Adrien’s mouth twitched.

Plagg flew out from his shirt, cackling, “Yeah, and I doubt he’ll be calling again anytime soon. Your girlfriend is absolute treasure. She could’ve made even my most destructive kittens curl up in shame with what she told your father.” Adrien couldn’t resist smiling at that.

"Oh, if you really want to see something you should let my mother get ahold of him,” Marinette grinned, the edge of something dangerous in her smile.

"I suppose you did learn all your mandarin from her.”

"What’s that mean?”

“Buginette, your vocabulary is ninety percent cooking utensils and insults.”

“At least I don’t speak like a dictionary robot,” Marinette teased. “Besides, some of it I looked up on my own. You can only get so many creepy customers asking you to speak Chinese for them before you want to get a little creative with it.”

“People do that?”

“Oh yeah, the really annoying ones add stuff like ‘oh, you’re so exotic, I’ve always wanted a mixed kid’ and your generic ‘China doll’ guys.”

“Gross,” Adrien wrinkled his nose.

“Yeah,” Marinette shuddered. She was glad her father looked intimidating to most people. There had been some customers that just wouldn’t give up, so they’d developed a signal for him to come up front to the counter. “Do you want to head back downstairs or stay up here a bit longer?”

Adrien thought for a moment. “I’m not going to let my father ruin today,” he decided.

“Us against the world, Chaton?” Marinette held out her hand for their usual fist bump.

“Us against the world, my lady.”

* * *

They barely made it down the ladder before the screaming started. Marinette’s parents were ushering everyone to safety, allowing the heroes to slip away and transform. Ladybug and Chat Noir met the others on the roof a few moments later.

Carapace was over to Chat Noir before anything else, enveloping him in a hug. “If you need to sit this one out, dude, we totally understand.”

“I’ll be okay,” Chat Noir said, grateful for the concern. “I’d rather be out here with you guys.”

“Let us know if you need to step back,” Carapace said, satisfied once Chat Noir nodded, promising to do so.

The akuma was dressed like an old-fashioned news reporter from the movies, a camera slung around his neck and a pen in hand. All the color had been leeched from him, enforcing the black and white movie look. Alya recognized him as a boy in one of her journalism courses, Lucas. “I am Headline! You will all regret rejecting my article!”

“What do you say we take this guy to print?” Chat Noir asked, his baton ready.

“Let me know if you get a _lead_ on his akuma,” Ladybug said, yo-yo twirling as they jumped into the fight. She watched the akuma move, trying to figure out his patterns and abilities. So far, it seemed the pens seemed to function like darts, a new one appearing in his hand after the last was thrown – unlikely to be holding the akuma. The camera gave off bright flashes, blinding those caught by the light for a few seconds – a good candidate for the akuma and a good idea to get away anyways. Her backup guess was the press hat since that seemed to be what inspired the look.

“Go for the camera!” Ladybug called out.

Chat Noir was closest, vaulting in just as the akuma spun, the camera flash bright in his eyes. Maybe the conversation with his father had made Adrien hyperaware, or maybe this day was doomed from the start, either way, with the flash of the camera bright in his eyes, he could feel himself slipping away.

* * *

_Late August, Four Years ago_

“Adrien! Adrien! Did you know what your father was doing?”

“Why didn’t you notice any suspicious behavior?”

“There have been rumors going around that you were an accomplice to Hawkmoth, thoughts on this?”

“Adrien! What will happen to your father’s company?”

“Is it true your mother was a coma this whole time?”

“What about the rumors she left to the countryside with a lover?”

“Will she return to acting again?”

“Um, you’ll have to ask her about the acting thing,” Adrien said, pressing himself back against the wall as the crowd moved in. He hated crowds, hated feeling trapped within them, the warmth of bodies pressing against his own, the humidity of the air increasing and the sticky sweetness filling his lungs, the flash of lights that left him blinded for a few seconds if he looked at the wrong time. He hated it all.

“How could you not notice your father was Hawkmoth?”

“Will you continue to model?”

“Are you staying in Paris?”

“Did you have anything to do with Hawkmoth’s akumas?”

They pressed closer and closer and Adrien felt himself shrinking in. _Stop that_ his father’s voice demanded. _You’re behaving like a child. Stand up straight and look them in the eye. Remember that anything you say will reflect back on me._ Adrien couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t think.

* * *

_April 28, 20XX_

“Chat, look out!” Ladybug’s voice pulled him back to the present as she tackled him to the ground, a glowing pink light overtaking his vision. He blinked a few times, trying to focus. Ladybug was on top of him, her face close enough to count the freckles dotting the edge of her mask and on her back was the source of the pink glow. “Chat, are you okay?”

“You’re glowing.”

She sighed in relief, “Now’s not the time for flirting, Chaton.”

“No, you’re literally glowing,” Chat Noir said, sitting up. She knit her brown in confusion, trying to twist around to see. Chat Noir grinned, “Looks like Tikki was right, it’s a shield.”

"A shield?” Ladybug reached behind, finding a disk that looked like it was made of pure energy. Like the rest of her costume, it was red, with five black spots like her earrings. “It doesn’t feel like it weighs anything,” Ladybug said. It started to dissolve as she twisted it around to examine the other side.

“Weird,” Chat Noir said. Usually their weapons stayed as long as their suits did.

"Look out!” Rena Rouge shouted.

“Eep!” Ladybug squeaked, throwing up her arms to protect her face. Chat Noir had half leaped to cover her when the shield returned, blocking the pen darts from hitting her.

Seeing that they were both safe, Chat Noir laughed, “That was so cute.”

“Oh hush,” Ladybug blushed. “I have no idea how this thing works.”

"We can ask Tikki once this akuma is taken care of,” Chat Noir stood, grabbing his staff from where it had been knocked away. But before he rejoin the fight, Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

“Wait, maybe you should sit this one out.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted.

"You completely froze,” she argued. “And you had that distant look again.”

"I want to fight, my lady, please. I need to make sure you’re okay.”

"And I need _you_ to be okay.”

“It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Ladybug opened her mouth to argue, but the sound of new screams cut her off. “Fine, just be careful.”

Chat Noir grinned, “I always am.”

* * *

“Pound it!”

Rena Rouge had volunteered to take Lucas home since she knew him from class, but rather than following her, he stormed over to Ladybug and the others. “You think that by targeting me you can get to my source?” he demanded, shoving a finger at Ladybug.

“I – what?”

"Don’t play dumb, I know what you’re doing! And as soon as I get someone to run my article, the whole world will too!”

“Woah, hey, dude, we’ve got no idea what you’re talking about,” Carapace said, hands up in peace. “Why don’t you explain what’s going on and we can work it out? It’s probably some kind of misunderstanding –”

“Misunderstanding!?” Lucas sputtered, cheeks turning a splotchy red. “Ha! She’s got you all so wrapped around her finger you’ve gone blind.” With that he turned on his heel and left.

The heroes stood in stunned silence.

“Well,” Queen Bee said eventually. “Today is officially awful.”

“What was he talking about?” Chat asked.

"I’ll see if I can find out,” Rena said. “I should see him in the study group or at the actual final at least.”

"I think tonight’s a movie night,” Carapace declared. “Chat’s pick. Queenie and Kagami are welcome too.”

“Just don’t pick anything lame,” Chloe said before swinging out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the designs I described are okay, I tried to use references but I'm not super familiar with fashion design  
> Wài Pó - maternal grandmother (some people also use Laolao and I have a friend who uses Popo, I actually use the word for paternal grandmother, Nainai, for my maternal grandmother) essentially there's a lot of different options and it varies from person to person like it does in English  
> Tones are a difficulty of mine so I don't know if Adrien actually sounds like that in canon with his mandarin (I tried to watch Kung Food for reference but one, I'm not really a fan of that episode, and two, I couldn't quite tell since it was going by so fast 😂) but in my personal experience there's a noticeable difference in speech patterns between classroom learning and learning by speaking (my grandmother has corrected me a few times on phrases I learned in school that are used differently in practice) so I decided to put it in the story  
> I had to look up the insult again so apologies for any mistakes in translation  
> Come find me on tumblr @miscellaneous-miraculous  
> https://miscellaneous-miraculous.tumblr.com/


	7. Rabbits and Rats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a visit from some familiar characters as well as some new ones, also ft. smol Adrien and Marinette

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to [@writtenbyrain (tumblr) ](https://writtenbyrain.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing this! Also, her AO3 is [hopedespite ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopedespite/) and you should definitely go check out her work as well.
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

_April 30th, 20XX_

The rain was falling in a steady drizzle when Alya returned from her study group, her hair frizzy and her tan trench coat slick with rain. “I’ve got good news and bad news,” she announced, leaving her boots by the door. “Which do you want first?”

Her flatmates were all in the living room, safe from the downpour that had started on her way home. Marinette was curled up on the couch with her feet in Adrien’s lap as she watched something on Netflix, Adrien was busy staring intensely at one of his textbooks with copious highlights across the pages, and Nino was fine-tuning his latest playlist in the armchair, but they all turned their attention to Alya.

“The good news,” Adrien decided, pushing his glasses back.

“Well, the good news is I found out what Lucas’s article is about,” Alya said. “The bad news is, well — this.” She unfurled a mockup newspaper from her bag, the headline in bold print: **Ladybug Exposed: Hero Turned Villain**.

Alya could hear Marinette suck in a breath while Adrien let out an angry hiss beside her. Nino was shaking his head. “How does he plan to sell that one?” he demanded.

“From what Lucas told me, he hasn’t been able to get it published yet. Unfortunately, he’s a good writer and he’s got a source he talks about throughout the paper. After reading it, I’m pretty sure it’s Lila, which means we have to be extra cautious.”

“Going against this could be falling right into her trap.” Marinette chewed at her lip, considering.

“I don’t suppose you could get him to let you meet this source one on one?” Nino asked.

“Probably not.” Alya shook her head. “He’s pretty protective since his source is ‘scared’ of Ladybug. Says he doesn’t even know her real name, just her pseudonym, Birdie.”

“Is that supposed to be a pun?” Adrien frowned.

“Or it could be a reference to the fact that some birds _eat_ ladybugs.” Alya shrugged. “I doubt there’s anything deeper. Maybe if we tail Lucas around for a while we can spot when they meet — although it could be over the phone. He never said exactly how they got in contact.”

“Maybe we can get one of the kwamis to do it,” Marinette suggested.

“I’ll see if Trixx is willing, since I’m going to be around him anyway.”

“We’re still not caught up on sleep and she’s trying to claim Ladybug created Painted Lady _for fun_?” Adrien scoffed at the mockup.

“To be fair, the sleep thing is probably also because we’re university students,” Marinette said. “That sounds right up Lila’s ally anyway: flipping who the heroes and villains are.”

“My father, too,” Adrien said, a sudden sickening thought occurring. “What if they’re working together? He could tell Lila our identities!”

Alya pinched her lips together. That _was_ a worrying thought. Gabriel definitely knew Adrien’s identity, and it was safe to assume he’d put together Ladybug’s as well. It wouldn’t be too much of a leap to figure out the rest from there, and even with just Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities out — it was just too risky. Too many possibilities opened up.

“We can check the visitor logs from the last four years,” Alya said. “I can’t imagine he’d be too popular so any official visits should stand out.”

“Good idea,” Marinette said. “And I’ll ask Master Fu about some kind of spell we can use. The kwamis can’t reveal the identities of other wielders, so maybe there’s a way to transfer that to people as well.”

Adrien flopped back on the couch with a groan. “Why can’t I just get one day without _him_ popping in out of nowhere?”

* * *

_Fifteen years ago_

Adrien sat in a chair that was much too big for him as he pushed the peas on his plate around until they resembled a frown. His mother had a last-minute call for work and he hadn’t seen his father since breakfast when he came to give Emilie a kiss and briefly ruffle Adrien’s hair as he grabbed a pastry. Nathalie had been the one to call him to dinner, insisting his father would be along in a minute. Adrien knew by now “in a minute"really meant that, in an hour or two, his father might come down to grab a cold plate of food before once again returning to his office.

Adrien grinned, the gap of his recently lost tooth visible as _the best idea in the entire world_ came to him. If his father was too busy to _come_ eat dinner, Adrien could _bring_ dinner to his father! He quickly loaded a plate full of the things he knew his father liked and ran off towards his office, a few peas rolling off along the way.

“Papa! I brought you dinner!” he said, grinning as he practically sprinted into the office.

“Adrien, how many times have I told you not to interrupt me during my work?” Gabriel sighed, rubbing his temples as he put down the phone.

Adrien immediately shrank back. “Sorry, father. I just wanted to bring you dinner before it got cold.”

His father gave him a brief smile. “Very well, you may leave it on my desk, but I expect you to clean up the mess as you head out.”

“Yes, father,” Adrien said, leaving the plate carefully on the desk before collecting all the peas that had spilled in his excitement.

Once he finished up his dinner, Adrien practiced piano until it was time for bed. He tried to be as slow as possible when brushing his teeth and putting on his pajamas, but his mother still wasn’t home by the time Nathalie told him it was time to go to bed.

He’d tried to get her to read a bedtime story — his favorite one about the ducklings, like his mother had promised — but Nathalie had simply said, “Goodnight, Adrien,” before turning out the lights and leaving.

* * *

“Mama, why can’t I go to school?” Adrien looked up from his maths book.

“Because, _mon petit_ , it’s much safer here,” Emilie said, putting an arm around him.

“But Chloe goes to school!”

“Is your name Chloe?”

“If I change it, can I go to school?” Adrien asked. Emilie laughed.

“Oh, _mon petit caneton_ , you’re so silly! You don’t want to leave me here in this big house all by myself, do you?”

Adrien frowned, “No, but —”

“Besides! If you were at school you wouldn’t be able to visit me on the movie sets so often, and we wouldn’t get to play silly songs on the piano together or model for your father.”

“I like modeling, it’s like when Chloe comes over and we can play dress up!”

“See? You don’t need school. Now, let's finish up your maths work and then we can go see what’s in the kitchen for lunch.”

* * *

“Mama, I don’t want to go to school!” Marinette wailed.

“I know, _bǎobèi_ , I wish there was more I could do,” Sabine said, holding her daughter close as she sniffled into her mother’s blouse. She ran her fingers through Marinette’s hair, the ends rough and uneven from where Chloe had used scissors on her braid. The school said they would take care of it, but apparently, Chloe had certain _privileges_ due to her parents. Then there was the whole ordeal of students at recess saying she had an unfair advantage because she was “naturally” better at math and that’s why Marinette got the highest grade in the class - nevermind that Sabine had witnessed her daughter near tears studying for it.

“How about this, why don’t you go put on your favorite pajamas — the one with the ducks — and when Papa’s done in the bakery we’ll all make lucky bread? Then we can talk about taking a personal day off tomorrow.”

Marinette frowned, sniffling as she considered. “Okay.”

* * *

_May 1st 20XX_

"I told you that was a bad idea," Reine growled, toying with one of her favorite knives. She was wearing all black, as usual, the blonde roots of her hair just beginning to show, standing out even more with the ink-black dye she used. It was all very overdramatic in Lila's opinion. Every member of the syndicate had a fanatical obsession with one of the miraculous, evident in everything from their wardrobe to their hobbies and choice of decoration. Reine — in her obsession with destruction and the Black Cat — kept her quarters completely bare while Leopold filled his with rare works of art, never mind the fact that Lila had met pencils with more creativity than he had in his entire body. 

"That was a rather nice property we were forced to abandon." Leopold frowned. He was dressed in a red velvet suit. Ladybug red, to be exact. It hurt her eyes to look at. "Expensive, too."

Lila snorted. The syndicate may have been started by an exiled monk but, with the exception of Reine, they certainly didn't live like it. Leopold was connected to some old royalty or something, and she was sure several of the others had their own connections. Tech companies, fashion empires, champion athletes, political figures — most big names probably had some connection to the Syndicate, whether they knew it or not. The point was the property didn't matter, no matter what Leopold was implying otherwise.

"You're both forgetting something important," Lila said, her words like silk. Leopold may have fancied himself a wielder of creation, but even _Ladybug_ could best him with all the clues he picked up. As much as Lila disliked her, at least Reine had brought down a hero before — even if it was some no-name peacock wielder. "Rena Rouge and Carapace were on my tail pretty fast, wouldn't you say?"

"Because you stick out like a canary in a cat litter," Reine scoffed.

"It is highly unlikely that they were patrolling in the middle of the day _and_ that they recognized you," Leopold conceded.

"Exactly, which means that Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her friends have a way to contact the heroes." Lila grinned. "It's too risky for me to approach them again, but I'm sure one you could do it easily. It'll give Reine something to do besides stalking me all the time, at least."

Leopold considered for a moment. "The Shadow's talents may yet come into play, but I believe there are much simpler ways to reach them. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is in a relationship with Adrien Agreste, is she not? It may be time for me to reconnect with an old friend."

* * *

_May 2nd, 20XX_

When Marinette returned home, she heard Emile Agreste's voice coming from their kitchen, " — be so excited."

Nino waved from the couch, his eyes going wide before shouting, "Hey, Marinette! You're home!"

Adrien immediately poked his head around the corner, flour dusting his nose and cheeks. "Hey, Marinette, I made pork buns — with chicken for Nino. Oh, and custard and red bean buns too."

"Stress baking?" Marinette asked as she kicked off her shoes. Nino was terrible at hiding anything, a side effect of being with Alya for so long. Marinette didn't want to pry since many a surprise had been ruined that way, but if Adrien was stress baking too, she wanted to make sure they were both okay at least.

"What? Oh, yeah, um — finals, you know?" Adrien offered, his voice an octave too high. Marinette raised an eyebrow and he immediately deflated, "That bad, huh?"

"I won't pry," Marinette said. "Just promise you're okay?"

"I promise." Adrien nodded. "It's nothing bad or miraculous related."

"Good." Marinette pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Now, I believe I was offered pork buns?"

"Right this way, my lady," Adrien teased, leading her into the kitchen. Mme. Agreste sat at the table, a fresh cup of tea in front of her.

"Hello, Marinette," she said, her voice pleasant as honey. The undisputed rule between the two was that they _never_ , _ever_ fought in front of Adrien — even if he knew about most of it, at least he didn't have to witness it.

"Hello, Mme. Agreste."

"Adrien was telling me all about your designs, and _three_ internship offers too? Very impressive."

"Thank you. You're almost done filming for your movie, right?"

"Oh yes, in fact, an old acquaintance recently contacted me about my next project already."

"That's great, mom!" Adrien smiled. Emilie had been having trouble reconnecting with her old social circle, most of whom either didn't want to be associated with her for image reasons or had moved away in the time since. Marinette knew Adrien was also hoping that if she reconnected with some friends she would have less time on her hands to follow him around places.

“Yes, M. Gautier seemed very enthusiastic on the phone. I believe it’s something historical based? It sounded like the details were still being hashed out, but he’s invited me to a charity event next month to discuss more details — oh, and he said he’d love to meet you as well Adrien.”

“Really?” Adrien knit his eyebrows together. “Did he say why?”

“No, perhaps he’s wondering if you’d be interested in auditioning for a role? Of course, we were a little more than acquaintances, maybe not quite friends, but perhaps he’s just being friendly. You’re welcome to bring a guest, of course, Nino might be interested since it’s largely a film crowd.”

“Hey Nino, want to go to a fancy party with a bunch of snobby people who know film?” Adrien called, a hint of humor in his voice.

“Totally, just give me the date so I don’t book any gigs then,” Nino said.

“Oh, I have a design that would be perfect for you Nino!” Marinette said, her eyes glittering in the excitement she only got around designing. “If you want to wear it, that is.”

“An evening with my best bro _and_ wearing a Marinette Dupain-Cheng original? Sign me up.”

Marinette giggled, “I’ll get my sketchbook.”

* * *

_May 3rd 20XX_

Marinette had a whole ten seconds of peace when she woke up before remembering the events of yesterday. The akuma had called herself Mother Earth. The fight itself had been taxing — that alone would’ve been enough reason for her exhaustion and muscle aches, but there was an emotional exhaustion too. Even if Chat Noir hadn’t actually died this time, seeing the way the vines and thorns had dug into his skin —-well, there was good reason Marinette had been loath to let go of Adrien once they returned home. They had spent the rest of the evening in bed just holding each other.

It was the first attack Chat Noir had been seriously injured in since the reveal. “You scared me,” Marinette said. “To know losing you would be losing Chat Noir and Adrien all at once …”

“It’s terrifying,” Adrien finished. She nodded. “I feel the same about Ladybug and Marinette.”

“It’s so stupid!” Marinette gave a forced laugh. “We’ve known for four years now. This shouldn’t be that big a deal.”

“We haven’t had akumas during most of that though.” Adrien brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “The most dangerous thing was Mme. Roux finding us kissing in the library.”

Marinette shivered, “Let’s hope she’s never akumatized.”

“Agreed,” Adrien laughed. “In all seriousness though, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, I was panicked and I just _reacted_.”

“It’s okay. I know I would do the same, it just... doesn’t make it any easier.”

“I’ll always fight to come back to you, my lady.” Adrien brought his lips to her knuckles. “You won’t be rid of me that easily.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”

That was the last thing he’d said before they both drifted off into sleep. Adrien was gone, but judging from the sun it was at least noon already, and he couldn’t sleep past ten most days. A splash of red on the pillow caught Marinette’s eye. She smiled, finding a bright red rose placed there. It looked fresh and, when she reached for it, she found a piece of paper tucked underneath, a messy winking cat face on the corner. Marinette’s heart flipped and she felt like she was fifteen again as she unfolded the letter.

_Marinette,_

_My love, my treasure, my darling, my everything. Today I woke with the urge to shout my love for you from the rooftops, but I’m certain our neighbors already think I’m crazy, so I decided to write this letter instead (Chat Noir, on the other hand, has been well known to be absolutely head over heels for Ladybug and is granted much more leniency of shouting about it because he saves Paris). With all my love, Adrien p.s. there’s custard buns on the counter_

There were few things that could get Marinette out of bed like the call of custard buns. She tucked the letter safely in her box with all the other letters and notes Adrien had given her over the years, inhaling the scent of the rose once more before adding it to the vase — a splash of bright red against the darker shades of the dried out ones — before putting on her slippers and heading for the kitchen.

On a completely unrelated note, Chat Noir was spotted at the Eiffel Tower moments before their scheduled patrol that night shouting at the top of his lungs, “I love Ladybug! She’s the best!”

It seemed like half of Paris responded with an amused, playfully exasperated, “We know!”

* * *

_May 6th 20XX_

“M. Ramier was akumatized,” Alya announced as an alert went off on their phones. A collective groan rose from the apartment.

“No! My nose can’t take it anymore!” Adrien protested, burying his head into his quantum mechanics book.

“Dude, you’ll crack your lenses if you keep faceplanting like that,” Nino warned. If Plagg hadn’t been able to add corrective lenses to his mask that were just as sturdy as the rest of the suit, Adrien would’ve already been on his five thousandth pair.

"I’ll make it into a new fashion trend,” Adrien mumbled, his face still in the textbook.

“Come on, don’t you want to see if we can break our old record?” Marinette said. She was dressed for a day of studying inside, featuring sweatpants and an old Jagged Stone t-shirt with her hair up in a bun, loose frizzy strands sticking out in every direction. “Two minutes and nineteen seconds.”

“I guess I could use a break from studying anyway, but Nino or Alya can take the next time. I like being able to breathe through my nose.”

“You really think there’ll be a next time?” Nino asked. Adrien gave him a dry look. “Fair enough.”

“Spots on!”

“Claws out!”

The timer didn’t start until they were on the scene, but Chat Noir was suspicious when his nose didn’t feel any of the tell-tale itchiness, and the air was absent from the usual cooing. Instead, it was something more like... squeaking?

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chat Noir said in disbelief. Instead of pigeons terrorizing the air, there was a mass of rats roaming the streets. In the center of it all was M. Ramier, no longer in his all too recognizable pigeon outfit. Instead, he wore a fuzzy brown suit that had a pink tail and ears perched atop his head, resembling a rat.

“I am Monsieur Rat! Soon all of Paris will know what it feels like to get caught in traps and driven from buildings!”

Chat couldn’t decide whether he was delighted for the pun opportunities or horrified by he villain as a whole. “Well, looks like we’re about to play a game of cat and mouse!”

Ladybug giggled. “And here I thought Multimouse was your favorite rodent-themed superbeing.”

“Aw, you know you’re the only bug-mouse for me,” Chat teased. “Besides, your name had creativity. What kind of name is Monsieur Rat? _Monsieur Rat!?_ I guess it’s not any worse than Mister Pigeon, but still! No originality.”

Ladybug froze, his words stirring an echo of a memory of a certain rabbit, and it wasn’t long before Chat Noir recognized the glint of a plan in her eyes. “I know that look, my lady. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking it’s time to pay a visit to an old classmate — after we beat our record.”

Chat Noir pulled out his staff. “Two minutes and eighteen seconds, here we come!”

They ended up defeating the akuma in a record one minute and fifty-nine seconds. It turned out Monsieur Rat’s strategy and goals were the same as always, only with rats instead of pigeons. The heroes didn’t even need to worry about Chat’s allergy, leading to a much quicker battle.

Several apologies and two ice cream cones later, Ladybug and Chat Noir were on their way to Master Fu’s, Ladybug explaining on the way. “Remember Timetagger?”

“Mostly, it was one of the earlier ones so details are a little fuzzy.”

“Well, in order to be prepared for Timetagger on this end, Alix needs her miraculous. She mentioned some villains we face eventually, including M. Rat. What if the appearance of M. Rat was a clue that it’s time to give her the miraculous?”

“Good thinking, Buginette.”

“Now we just need to convince Master Fu to let out another full-time miraculous.”

* * *

That step turned out to be surprisingly easy.

“You are the next guardian Ladybug, I trust your judgment,” Master Fu explained. “I’ve also had my own visits from Bunnix and I believe you are right. It is time to give her the miraculous.”

Finding Alix was the next challenge. She still lived at the Louvre with her father, though her own research was more modern, based on the global practices of street art and getting communities involved in it. The nature of her research meant she traveled a lot, but she usually stayed closer during the summer months since travel was more expensive during that season. However, she still could’ve been anywhere in Paris. They checked her usual hang-outs first, getting lucky when they spotted her leaving the studio space she shared with Nathaniel. She had her rollerblades slung over one shoulder and a bag bursting with paint rollers and spray paint over the other.

It was easy enough to convince her to join them on the roof. As she cradled the ancient box, Ladybug felt a strange mixture of excitement and dread. Alix would do great, and it had been so long since they’d gotten to add another hero to the team, but it was dangerous. The rabbit miraculous especially. Time wasn’t often kind to it’s wielders. Could she really ask her friend to do this? But then, she had done it already, hadn’t she? Bunnix had visited her before, not giving her the miraculous would probably create some kind of paradox which would doom the world and — Ladybug felt Chat Noir squeeze her hand, steadying her. She squeezed back, her focus returned to the present as she launched into a speech she hadn’t done for years.

“Alix Kubdel, this is the miraculous of the rabbit which grants the power of time travel. You will use it for the greater good.” Ladybug held out the wooden box.

Alix grinned, opening it to find the pocket watch she remembered from collège. “About time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed and apologies for the longer wait (what even is having both motivation and free time). As always, kudos and comments are very much appreciated!  
> Feel free to come find me on tumblr [@miscellaneous-miraculous ](https://miscellaneous-miraculous.tumblr.com/)


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